Nine and half years for raid on film director’s home

Michael Winner’s obsessed former lover meticulously planned a £300,000 raid on his widow’s home, a court heard today.

Geraldine Winner, 81, was robbed in her Knightsbridge flat by Gurgana Gueorguieva, 48, who wanted revenge in a dispute over the late director’s will

She wore disguise including a black wig and lay in wait before ambushing Ms Winner as she took the rubbish out.

Mrs Winner, who married the director in 2011, told Southwark crown court how she was blindfolded, tied with cables and hit with a kettle.

But Gueorguieva denied intentionally hurting Mrs Winner and said she only wanted to rob her after being left out for an inheritance.

The Bulgarian-British national also denied hitting Mrs Winner with a metal pole and stealing €20,000 (around £15,500,00 at the time) from her in a pre-sentence hearing.

The personal trainer, who was in a relationship with Mr Winner between 1999 and 2002, claimed Ms Winner had removed a page from her husband’s will cutting her out of a £100,000 inheritance.

The court hears Mrs Winner lost jewellery worth £300,000

Prosecutor Mark Gadsden said: ‘The primary motive is to get revenge by taking personal items.

‘There is obviously a secondary motive which is to make money out of it.’

Mr Gadsden told the court that Mrs Winner had given ‘useful and compelling’ evidence about the circumstances of the attack.

‘In fairness to the defendant’s position, she didn’t at all tell us about the hitting over the head with the metal implement,’ said Mr Gadsden.

‘Whether or not that happened or not, the evidence is clear that the kettle was used as a weapon, say the Crown.’

In her police interview, Gueorguieva admitted to hitting her victim over the head with a kettle.

But she later changed her story to the hit being accidentally as she wrestled the kettle Mrs Winner was using to defend herself away from her.

‘This defendant has managed to find out an awful amount of detail about Mrs Winner and that involved significant planning,’ said Mr Gadsen.

‘She obviously searched the names of her children.

‘It wasn’t obvious where she lived, she had to be in the right area to follow her home.’

Gueorguieva herself admitted to attending the area multiple times and eavesdropping on Mrs Winner’s conversations, said the prosecutor.

‘That didn’t come about during the court of a few weeks in Autumn 2015.

‘This was something, in her words, meticulously planned,’ said Mr Gadsden.

‘The violence may have been over relatively quickly but the complainant was left tied up on the floor with bleeding injuries for over three hours and a fractured rib.’

Mr Gadsden added that the current trial of issue had forced Mrs Winner into the witness box, to relive an ordeal from four years ago.

Mrs Winner’s franttic 999 call was played in court.

‘I opened the back door to take the rubbish out and she jumped right in,’ said Mrs Winner.

‘She hit me over the head with an iron bar.

‘She got my kettle and hit me with kettle.’

‘She grabbed me and hit me.

‘I tried to defend myself but I couldn’t,’ she added.

Mrs Winner said that her attacker had stolen pictures of late husband with famous people.

‘They have taken all the photos, I do not know why they would do that,’ she said.

‘They have taken all the photos with the Queen.’

She told the 999 operator that she managed to free herself by writhing on the floor and using scissors in a drawer at the other end of the room to cut her restraints.

The court heard that Mrs Winner was left with cuts down to the bone on her forehead, an injury to the back of the head, a cracked rib and a broken ring finger.

Patrick Dennis, defending, said: ‘It is effectively accepted by the prosecution there is insufficient evidence to show the defendant went to this offence armed with a weapon.

‘There is a world of difference between the defendant going to a place armed with a weapon and what the prosecution’s case is now in relation to the kettle.’

‘There is no doubt that the defendant wanted access to the safe in this case.

‘There is dispute whether the defendant asked the victim or whether the victim volunteered the code,’ said Mr Dennis.

‘The last thing the defendant wants to do is to immediately hit the victim on the head with a metal pole when there is a chance that would render her unconscious.’

Mr Dennis added that Mrs Winner’s evidence in court was not consistent with her 999 call.

‘There is perhaps a capacity for her to exaggerate the level of violence used,’ he said.

Gueorguieva had never committed a serious offence or been jailed prior to this incident, said her barrister.

‘There has been this obsession.

‘She is otherwise a productive member of society, who has excelled at work and done a lot of good work as a personal trainer,’ said Mr Dennis.

‘She is actively helping people suffering from autism and obesity problems.’

In a police interview, Gueorguieva said the raid was to ‘teach her a lesson’ and
accused Mrs Winner of causing the filmmaker’s 2013 death with voodoo dolls.

Gueorguieva, of Holland Park, West London, admits one count of robbery within a dwelling.

Jailing Gueorguieva for nine and a half years, Judge Peter Testar said: ‘Is is said that the defendant was close to Michael Winner for a time leading up to 2002.

‘The complainant is his widow.

‘The complainant, Geraldine Winner, had known each other when they young and as can happen, they got together again late in life and married a few years before is death.

‘The defendant thought that Mr Winner was going to remember her in his will.

‘It would seem from her police interview the sort of figure she had in mind was £100,000.’

Judge Testar said Gueorguieva blamed Mrs Winner when the director died and she was not included in his will.

‘She developed a loathing for Geraldine Winner,’ the judge said

‘It is no exaggeration to say that her resentment of Mrs Winner became an obsession.

‘I think the defendant had done some research and got to know quite a lot about Mrs Winner.

‘I am sure that she did mention Mrs Winner’s sons by name soon after she entered the premises and say that they had sent the defendant to kill Mrs Winner,’ said the judge.

‘It is common ground between the prosecution and the defence that this case was motivated primarily by feelings revenge rather than financial gain.

‘She wanted to take from Mrs Winner things that were important to her.’

The judge said that he could not be sure whether Gueorguieva had used a metal rod to attack Mrs Winner.

‘I am sure that the defendant did use a kettle in order to hit Mrs Winner.

‘Self-defence does not arise under the circumstances,’ added the judge.

‘There was serious physical and psychological impact to Mrs Winner from what had happened.

‘I have already dealt with her injuries.

‘I have read her impact statement and she suffered the lasting effects that one would expect from such an ordeal despite the fortitude that she showed at the time.’

An order preventing Gueorguieva from contacting Mrs Winner, attending her address or being within 100 metres of her was also issued.

ends