Life for playboy solicitor who used hitman to kill business partner lover for life insurance

John Cort

John Cort who was found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court today of the contract killing of his business partner, Vina Patel

A solicitor was jailed for life yesterday for arranging the 'calculated and ruthless' contract killing of his business partner to get a life assurance payout.

Vina Patel, 51, was found dead in her office in Cort and Co solicitors in Leicester, on January 15 last year.

John Cort, 54, of Leicester, and Brian Farrell, 37, of west London, were found guilty of murdering Mrs Patel and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Setting a minimum term of 29 years for Cort and 28 years for Farrell, Mrs Justice Linda Dobbs told them the murder was 'premeditated, calculated and ruthless'.

During the trial at Nottingham Crown Court, the court heard that debt-ridden Cort hired Farrell to commit the murder in a 'contract killing' that would lead to a huge life assurance payout.

Farrell and Cort remained emotionless as the unanimous verdicts were given, while there were whispers of 'yes' from Mrs Patel's family in the public gallery.

The judge said: 'By their verdicts, you, John Cort and Brian Farrell, were responsible for the murder of Vina Patel.

'You deprived the family and friends of Vina Patel of a cherished person.'

She quoted from a statement from the solicitor's widower Surendra Patel - which was not read to the court - saying that since her murder the family had been dogged by 'torment, depression and paranoia'.


'You are a controlling person who will stop at nothing to achieve your aims.

'You were the driving force behind the murder.'

She said the offence was 'of particularly high seriousness'.

Farrell, who had to sit down halfway through the judge's sentencing comments, was accused of following where Cort led.

The judge told him he was prepared to help his friend by carrying out a callous murder motivated by money.

She said: 'Cort knew this case backwards and had thought of nearly every answer to every question asked.

'Where Mr Cort led, you followed and followed willingly.'

A 'cherished life' Mrs Patel with her husband Surendra

A 'cherished life' Mrs Patel with her husband Surendra

She told the men they would serve life in prison and Cort could not be considered for parole for 29 years, while Farrell would not be considered for 28.

For each man, who had previously good character, 329 days served on remand were taken into account.

Speaking after the unanimous verdicts today, Mr Patel branded his wife's business partner the 'devil'.

He said: 'We wanted justice for Vina, this is it. The man (Cort) is completely callous, there was no reaction at all.

'I think he is the devil. If you ever want to meet the devil, he is it.'

Hitman: Brian Farrell broke his victim's neck and killed her by asphyxiation


Mrs Patel was found dead at the foot of a staircase in the offices of Cort and Co on January 15 last year by her husband and daughter after she did not arrive to pick the latter up from work.

The 51-year-old mother of two had suffered a broken neck as well as other injuries.

The court evidence suggested she had either fallen because she was being attacked or had been attacked, then her body arranged to make it look like an accident.

A swab of her right hand showed a mixed profile including her DNA, with the remaining DNA a 'billion times more likely to have come from Brian Farrell than from someone unrelated', the court heard.

Mobile phone evidence showed that four days before her death Farrell travelled to Leicester from London in what the prosecution claim was a 'dry run' for the killing.

The court heard that divorcee Cort 'lived a life he simply could not afford' and had spiralled into £171,000 debt.

Mr Spencer told the jury he rented a penthouse apartment in Leicester as well as two different flats in London for girlfriends and frequented top restaurants and luxury hotels in the capital.

The court heard that weeks before Mrs Patel's death he had persuaded her they should up their life assurance cover from £500,000 to £1.5 million, claiming he had a serious illness.

More than £650,000 had gone missing from the company's client account, which should have been paid to customers or mortgage lenders, the court heard.

The firm was investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) last July after Cort's arrest.

An investigator said there were £1.4 million of 'questionable' transactions, including the £650,000.

Giving evidence, Cort said he had been having an affair with Mrs Patel lasting 20 years.

He said when their relationship broke down he started seeing other women, including 23-year-old model and former Miss Black Nottingham Charissa Watson and Rumbizi Kampiri, the wife of a government minister in Zimbabwe.

His defence claimed a meeting set up on the evening of her death was legitimate.

Farrell told police he spoke regularly to Cort because the pair were having a sexual relationship.

His defence said the presence of Farrell's DNA on the victim's body and evidence that his phone had been used near her office were not proof he had been in direct contact with her.

Mr Patel released a statement after the trial but felt unable to read it himself.

It said: 'It is a huge understatement to say that our beloved Vina is greatly missed by all who knew her.

'To us she was more than a mother, wife, daughter and sister.

'She was the one person we could all turn to, who we trusted and relied upon.

'She provided the comfort and security and was the glue that kept us together.

'Vina was a warm, generous, honest and caring person while still being strong, assertive and passionate.'

He said his wife stood up for what she believed in and freely helped those who needed it.

'For the family, her premature death has unimaginably changed our lives. Without her, our lives are devoid of joy and optimism,' he said.

'For us there is no light relief, no escape from what has happened.

'We are glad that justice has been done, but nothing changes for us.

'Our only hope is that we can finally move on, forget the deceptive, unimaginable way she was taken from us, forget the image that haunts my daughter and me of when we found her, forget the fear she must have felt in her final moments and begin to cherish the many wonderful memories we have of our limited time with her.'

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Redfern, who led the investigation, said that, although Mrs Patel's death originally looked like an accident, thorough examination of the scene and an expert post-mortem examination led to an investigation which identified Cort and Farrell as the people responsible.

'The motive for Vina's murder was greed and money,' Mr Redfern said.

'When the life insurance money was put on hold pending the completion of the police investigation, Cort, still needing large sums of money, began to use the business client account to fund his extravagant lifestyle and that of his entourage.

'These serious allegations are currently still being investigated.

'Vina's death has had a devastating impact on her family who have shown tremendous dignity throughout a long investigation.

'I sincerely hope that they will be able to take some comfort from seeing justice done and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.'

Lawrence English, Acting Chief Crown Prosecutor from CPS Leicestershire and Rutland, said: 'This case was one of the most challenging murder cases we have had, combining as it did factors such as a deplorable level of conspiracy between the two men, greed, fraud, and frightening pre-meditation of the part of both, but Cort in particular.

'We are satisfied justice has now been done for the family of Vina Patel, who have shown tremendous courage in the face of such a tragedy.

'We sincerely hope this verdict will go some small way towards easing their suffering.'


'Ruthless' solicitor used hitman to kill woman business partner to get insurance payout

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