Exclusive:
A source close to Tony Martin’s family has revealed to the Mirror that ‘no one knows’ where the controversial convicted killer’s astonishingly large fortune will end up
Controversial farmer Tony Martin left an estate worth around £5million… with mystery now surrounding who will inherit his fortune.
The farmer, who died aged 80 earlier this month and whose funeral it is today, killed burglar Fred Barras, 16, when he shot at him after the teen and fellow criminal Brendon Fearon broke into his home. Now the destination of his fortune – made up of the value of his sprawling Bleak House farm, land around it, property in Australia as well as his cars – is shrouded in mystery as his will is yet to be read and he had no partner or children.
At today’s funeral in King’s Lynn his estranged brother, his long-term house-keeper as well as nieces and cousins are all expected to be present – all who could inherit the windfall. A source close to the family told the Mirror: “No one knows where Tony’s money will end up.
“Tony’s estate is worth around £4 to £5million and of yet no one knows where money from Bleak House and all the land he owned is going. He was a very frugal man and not interested in money. He had no wife, or kids and was reclusively private so no one has a clue who he left his estate to as no one was close enough to him to be privy to his will.
“Whoever he named in the will later this year will have their life changed forever.” The Mirror can reveal Tony, who was convicted of murder and sentenced in 2000 before it was reduced to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, died from the effects of a stroke at his cottage near Wisbech, Cambs. It is believed two close friends were with him when he died.
Today friends and family will gather at a church near King’s Lynn for his funeral. A close friend shared some of the discussed contents of the eulogy at today’s funeral, which give an insight into the unorthodox life of the farmer. The friend revealed how Tony spent a long time before his death living out of two of his fleet of banged-up Land Rovers.
They said: “At one point it is likely Tony was sleeping in one of his cars and eating his meals in another one. Another quirk he had was if his car broke down and it was not easily repairable, he’d just leave it there and buy another one. He probably owned around in excess of a dozen of the same old bangers over the years that were abandoned and became known around the area for abandoning them in various places whenever they stopped working. He left one at his favourite pub and never picked it up.”
An auction is expected to take place for his working Land Rovers – with the friend revealing that two interested parties have already made bids for Tony’s cars. The money will go back into the estate once the will is read later this year. The friend said: “In his later years he was looked after by friends and his housekeeping at a cottage in Wisbech.
“He had become a recluse and never left the house after becoming disillusioned with the world. He just stayed in reading history books and listening to the radio but he lived a very interesting life.” On August 20 1999, Tony, then 54, had been working on and around the £3million Bleak House farmhouse he had inherited from his aunt and had gone to bed with a copy of Farmer’s Weekly.
After hearing noises from the downstairs, which was in total darkness, he picked up a shotgun he had hidden and fired at the raiders while on the stairwell of the labyrinth-like farmhouse in Ementh, Norfolk. He insisted he fired them a a deterrent. Fred was hit in the leg and back, dying at the scene. His accomplice Brendon Fearon, then 29, was hit in the leg, and he survived.
Tony insisted on never actually seeing the intruders and always pleaded his innocence. Mourners at the church are likely to hear stories about his unlikely celebrity backers in today’s eulogy – including shamed Harrods boss Mohammed Al Fayed and American actor Charlton Heston.
The friend said: “Tony never really got over being jailed and his life was never the same after the night in 1999. But the story became so big that he had a lot of interest. When Tony was in Bullingdon prison, his story caught the eye of shamed Harrods boss Mohamed Al-Fayed, who thought he would cheer him up by sending Tony a giant teddy bear and hamper to the prison.
“It caused quite a stir at the prison where staff obviously confiscated it and Tony never saw it. Someone had to go and collect it and give it to his mother. Prison was a tough time for Tony not because of his treatment but because of the sense of injustice he felt. He was never the same after he came out.
“People at the funeral will hear how Tony was a fan of travelling, which was a good thing because he was moved around six different jails during his prison sentence. They’ll also likely hear how he once caught the eye of Charlton Heston at one time who sent his manager with his autobiography to visit Tony in prison. It was rather surreal.”
