The great-great grandson of Otto von Bismarck, the statesman behind Germany’s 19th century unification, was found dead at his London flat, police said on Wednesday, after a life tainted by scandal.
The body of Count Gottfried von Bismarck (44) was found at his home in the upmarket Chelsea district, reportedly surrounded by drugs paraphernalia.
If a narcotics link is proved, it would be an ironic end for a flamboyant character whose scandalous lifestyle hit the headlines twice after drugs-related deaths at his parties.
Last August, a man fell from the roof terrace of his home during what Doctor Paul Knapman, the coroner investigating the death, described as ”a gay orgy”. Anthony Casey (38) had a substantial amount of cocaine in his system when his body was found.
Afterwards, a room at the flat was found to be full of ”unusual” and ”bizarre” items such as sex toys, lubricants, a box of syringes and a butane gas canister, Knapman said.
And in 1986, Olivia Channon, the 22-year-old daughter of a minister in former prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s government, died of a heroin overdose at a party hosted by Bismarck at Christ Church, an Oxford University college.
Bismarck did not face charges over the death of Casey, which an inquest attributed to misadventure, and was ordered to pay a small fine for possession of drugs following Channon’s death.
The body of the aristocrat — full name Gottfried Alexander Leopold Graf von Bismarck-Schonhausen — was found Monday. Police are still investigating the circumstances of his death. — AFP
