Charles Saatchi threatened to hunt and destroy me, housekeeper tells court
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Version 0 of 1. Charles Saatchi threatened to "hunt down" and "destroy" his housekeeper of 11 years when he confronted her with an allegation that she committed fraud against him, a jury at Isleworth crown court heard on Tuesday. Francesca Grillo, 36, said Saatchi banged the table in a meeting where he alleged she had misspent money on a credit card intended for household expenses and pledged to "humiliate me, put me in handcuffs". Grillo said how she refused to sign a document admitting to the alleged fraud. The court heard he threatened to pursue "a personal vendetta" against Grillo, who is on trial for spending an alleged £580,000 over four years without approval. Her sister, Elisabetta Grillo, 41, is also on trial for fraud for an alleged £105,000 of spending. "He said you can f-word hide anywhere in Italy, but I will find you and destroy you," Francesca Grillo told Karina Arden, her defence counsel. "It was quite scary to be honest. He said he would find me and hunt me down, those were his words. You don't cross Charles Saatchi, everyone knows that." She said that he confronted her furiously in summer 2012 and said "you've bought a house with my money". Earlier Grillo told the court she found rolled banknotes coated with remnants of cocaine after dinner parties held by Nigella Lawson at the home, regularly found similar makeshift snorting tubes in Lawson's handbags and was told she smoked cannabis with her children. The Grillos deny fraud. The case continues. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |