Who was Paula Leeson and where is husband Donald McPherson now?

BBC News

30-04-2025

The body of millionaire businesswoman Paula Leeson was found in a pool at a cottage in a remote part of Denmark seven years ago. Her husband, Donald McPherson, who stood to inherit her £4.4m estate in the event of her death, was found by a judge to have held her in an arm-lock before leaving her in the water where she drowned.The 51-year-old - a convicted fraudster - denied murder at a 2021 trial and said her death was a "tragic accident", before a judge ordered the jury to find him not guilty due to a lack of evidence.A new documentary, The Drowning of Paula Leeson, will look into the mystery of her death and the Leeson family's search for justice.
Who was Paula Leeson?
The 47-year-old mother from Sale in Greater Manchester oversaw her family construction business, W. Leeson & Son.In 2013, she met Mr McPherson, who at the time claimed to be a property renovator, through the business which she was set to inherit from her father along with her brother.The pair married in 2014 after what her murder trial was told was a "whirlwind romance", with the ceremony held at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire.
What happened to her?
They had gone on a break to the small Danish town of Norre Nebel in June 2017 to stay in a rented cottage. Three days into the trip, her body was found in a 4ft (1.2m) deep swimming pool at the property, having suffered what pathologists later found to be 13 separate injuries. Mr McPherson told police he had woken up to discovered his wife face down in the pool.It was later revealed in court that he had taken out seven life insurance policies and stood to gain millions if she died.
What happened in the courts?
A jury during a 2021 trial at Manchester Crown Court was told it could not find Mr McPherson guilty of murder because the prosecution case was built on circumstantial evidence. Paula Leeson's family then filed a High Court bid to stop the husband inheriting her £4.4m estate. Last year, a judge ruled that Mr McPherson had unlawfully killed his wife, and blocked him from inheriting her wealth. Mr Justice Richard Smith said the "much-loved mother, daughter and sister" had been put in an armlock and then placed her in the pool by her husband. "Don's motive for unlawfully killing Paula Leeson is clear: money", the judge said.In civil courts, the standard of proof for a conviction is to weight the evidence on the balance of probabilities, while in a criminal court, the prosecution must prove a person's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Where is Donald McPherson?
Mr McPherson, born in New Zealand as Alexander James Lang, did not attend the civil proceedings in which he was ruled to have unlawfully killed his wife. The courts head he had changed his name multiple times, and had 32 convictions in 15 years across three countries, including being jailed for an £11m bank fraud in Germany. Lawyers representing the Leeson family's legal team at Glaisyers ETL said he would always reply he had no fixed abode when asked in court documents to say where he lived. They say they believe he is now somewhere in Australasia or the South Pacific.David Jones from the firm said he hoped the documentary "would help the authorities track down Donald McPherson, who appears to have gone to ground, and act as a warning to others who might have fallen under his influence". The Drowning of Paula Leeson will air tonight at Channel 5 at 20:00 BST.
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