UK: Man charged in connection with the murder of gay socialite Roberto Troyan
A man has been charged with the murder of a gay socialite who was found collapsed with head injuries at his home.
On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police Service said David Jeffs, 36, from Nottingham, would appear in custody at Croydon Magistrates Court later today.
He has been charged with the murder of Roberto Charles Troyan in Mayfair, central London.
Troyan, 63, who was known as Robert, died on 8 March at his flat in Mount Street.
Troyan’s friend Sean McGuigan told the London Evening Standard last week that he believed the 63-year-old was “too trusting”.
He said: “A lot of people around him were after his money. He had some incredibly expensive antiques in his flat including a vase worth £100,000.
“He was incredibly trusting, too trusting. He would lavish gifts on people and was quite carefree with his money.”
Troyan was discovered with a gash to his head in a pool of blood by his maid in the kitchen of his luxury rented Mayfair flat.
A post-mortem examination confirmed he died of head injuries.
The Mail reports Troyan’s mother, Marie, 83, described her son as “one in a million” but said there had been a “terrible change in circumstances” after the death of his late partner, architect and interior designer Anthony Feldman.
Feldman’s clients included Princess Michael of Kent and former Tory Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken.
Troyan and Feldman were among the first same-sex couples in London to enter into a civil partnership in 2005.
The ceremony was held eight days before Feldman’s death.
An obituary in the Times after Feldman’s death said: “They were both immensely kind and generous to people in need and to charities for the homeless. Trudie Styler enlisted them for her and Sting’s campaign for Tibet.”
