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Woman 'gave £60,000 inheritance to Maoist sect before falling to her death' Woman 'gave £60,000 inheritance to Maoist sect before falling to her death'
(about 2 hours later)
A member of a Maoist sect is believed to have handed up to £60,000 from her late father's inheritance to the extreme leftwing commune before falling to her death from a bathroom window of the house they shared. A member of a Maoist sect is believed to have handed up to £60,000 from her late father's inheritance to an extreme leftwing commune before falling to her death from a bathroom window of the house they shared.
Sian Davies, 44, died with only £5 to her name in 1997 after breaking her neck in a mysterious fall from the property in south London, where she lived with the elderly couple accused of keeping three women in servitude for 30 years. Sian Davies, 44, died with only £5 to her name in 1997 after breaking her neck in a mysterious fall from the property in south London, where she lived with the couple who have been accused of keeping three women in servitude for 30 years.
As police began formally interviewing the three alleged victims for the first time on Wednesday, more detail emerged about Davies, who is said to have virtually vanished without trace after joining the sect in the late 70s. As police began formally interviewing the three alleged victims for the first time on Wednesday, more details emerged about Davies, who is said to have vanished without trace after joining the sect in the late 70s.
A former pupil of Cheltenham ladies' college who grew up in an idyllic market town in north Wales, Davies refused to meet her mother for almost two decades and was cut off from her family by followers of the Marxist collective led by Aravindan Balakrishnan, known as "Comrade Bala". A former pupil of Cheltenham Ladies' College, who grew up in an idyllic market town in north Wales, Davies refused to meet her mother for almost two decades and was cut off from her family by followers of the Marxist collective led by Aravindan Balakrishnan, known as "Comrade Bala".
Balakrishnan, 73, and his wife, Chanda, were arrested last week on suspicion of keeping three women in servitude. Balakrishnan, now 73, and his wife, Chanda, were arrested last week on suspicion of keeping three women in servitude.
Davies is understood to have inherited £60,000 from her father, Alun, when he died aged 56 in 1970. She travelled to London with her university boyfriend, known only as Martin, in around 1977 and was quickly drawn into the tight-knit collective. Davies is understood to have inherited £60,000 from her father, Alun, when he died aged 56 in 1970. She went to London with her university boyfriend, known only as Martin, around 1977 and was drawn into the tight-knit collective.
She is believed to have spent the next 20 years living with the group at various addresses across the capital before being left paraplegic after falling nine metres (30ft) from a second-floor window at the house they shared. She is believed to have spent the next 20 years living with the group at various addresses in the capital before being left paraplegic after falling nine metres (30ft) from a second-floor window at the house they shared.
Davies was treated in King's College hospital in London for eight months, but members of the Maoist group told her mother she was "travelling in India and sends her love" and clashed with doctors who wanted to contact her family. Davies was treated in King's College hospital in London for eight months, but Maoist group members informed her mother that she was "travelling in India" and sent "her love". They clashed with doctors who wanted to contact her family.
Davies is understood to have died with barely any personal possessions – only a handful of Marxist teachings and £5 in her bank account – raising fears that her inheritance may have been used to fund the living arrangements of the extreme-left group. Davies is understood to have died with barely any personal possessions – only a handful of Marxist teachings, and £5 in her bank account – raising fears that her inheritance might have been used to fund the living arrangements of the extreme-left group.
He told the London Evening Standard: "His followers were committed to becoming revolutionaries. He would say: 'I am the Christ, follow me.'" Dudley Heslop, a community worker who claimed to be a past member of the Brixton collective, told the London Evening Standard: "His followers were committed to becoming revolutionaries. He would say, 'I am the Christ, follow me'."
Scotland Yard is examining the circumstances around Davies's death as part of its investigation into the Maoist sect. Officers are reviewing which inquiries were made on behalf of the coroner, who described the death as a mystery and recorded an open verdict. Scotland Yard is examining the circumstances around Davies' death as part of its investigation into the Maoist sect. Officers are reviewing which inquiries were made on behalf of the coroner, who described the death as a mystery and recorded an open verdict.
Eiddwyn Evans, a former Metropolitan police officer turned private investigator who examined the death on behalf of the Davies family, raised questions about the fatality in a television interview aired in 1997. "I tried and tried for months. I felt within my heart it was such a distressful thing for Mrs Davies – she was begging and begging to get in touch with her but obviously these people, they merely closed every door," he said in a BBC Wales programme broadcast in 1997. "Then when I heard of her tragic death what came to my mind, to be perfectly honest – it's only my opinion – did she jump or was she pushed?" Eiddwyn Evans, a former Metropolitan police officer turned private investigator, who examined the death on behalf of the Davies family, raised questions about the fatality in a TV interview.
The Metropolitan police commander Steve Rodhouse confirmed on Wednesday that detectives were reviewing papers from the inquest but that there was nothing to suggest the verdict was wrong. "I tried and tried for months. I felt within my heart it was such a distressful thing for Mrs Davies – she was begging and begging to get in touch with her but obviously these people, they merely closed every door," he said in a BBC Wales programme broadcast in 1997.
Rodhouse said police were investigating a series of allegations, including claims of physical and emotional abuse. "The crucial issue for us is that, on the basis of the information that we have had indirectly from victims, clearly criminal offences have been committed. What we need to do now is to understand that in much more detail," he added. The Met police commander Steve Rodhouse confirmed on Wednesday that detectives were reviewing papers from the inquest but said there was nothing to suggest the verdict was wrong.
A total of 47 officers are now working on the inquiry, launched after three women – a 30-year-old Briton, a 57-year-old Irishwoman and a 69-year-old Malaysian national – were rescued from a house in Brixton, south London, where they said they were being held. Rodhouse said police were investigating a series of allegations, including claims of physical and emotional abuse.
Detectives have stressed the unique nature of the case and warned about jumping to conclusions that the case amounted to "modern-day slavery". "The crucial issue for us is that, on the basis of the information that we have had indirectly from victims, clearly criminal offences have been committed. What we need to do now is to understand that in much more detail."
"We have not yet been able to formally interview the victims in this case so we don't fully understand the nature of the allegations," Rodhouse said. The inquiry, using 47 officers, was launched after three women – a 30-year-old Briton, a 57-year-old Irishwoman and a Malaysian national aged 69 – were rescued from a house in Brixton, London, where they said they were being held.
"The victims are in the care of specialists who have got great experience of dealing with people who have been subject to trauma. We're working to that advice of those experts as to how best to handle those victims, to support them and of course to draw out the evidence we would need to substantiate any prosecution." Detectives stressed the unique nature of the case and warned about jumping to conclusions that the case amounted to "modern-day slavery".
Police have also begun interviewing 50 witnesses and ploughing through other material relevant to the case, although Rodhouse said police had no reason to believe there were other victims. Rodhouse said: "We have not yet been able to formally interview the victims in this case so we don't fully understand the nature of the allegations.
"The victims are in the care of specialists who have got great experience of dealing with people who have been subject to trauma. We're working to [the] advice of those experts as to how best to handle those victims, to support them and of course draw out the evidence we would need to substantiate any prosecution."
Police have begun interviewing 50 witnesses and ploughing through other material relevant to the case, though Rodhouse said police had no reason to believe there were more victims.
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