Is mystery of White Mischief murder to be solved at last? 14 years after expat artist's death, police open new inquiry

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It is a chilling modern-day parallel to the notorious White Mischief murder of the 1940s: the cold-blooded killing of a wealthy British playboy who scandalised Kenya's privileged expat community.

And now, 14 years after the fatal shooting near Nairobi of London-trained artist Tonio Trzebinski, an inquest into his death is finally to be opened.

It follows years of dogged detective work by his mother, who has never believed the original police theory that Trzebinski's death was the result of a simple carjacking that went wrong.

On the night of October 16, 2001, Trzebinski, 41, was driving his white Alfa Romeo towards the gates of the villa owned by his mistress, professional game-hunter Natasha Illum-Berg, in the affluent neighbourhood of Karen, when he was killed by a single shot fired at point-blank range into his chest.

14 years after the fatal shooting near Nairobi of London-trained artist Tonio Trzebinski (pictured), an inquest into his death is finally to be opened

The shooting came after a furious row which ended Trzebinski's volatile marriage to his German-born wife Anna. His affair with Ms Illum-Berg had appalled many in the well-heeled white community in which he moved.

In a bizarre coincidence, almost exactly 60 years earlier, British peer and roguish philanderer Lord Erroll was shot dead in his car less than a mile from the spot where Trzebinski was killed.

Erroll's murder was never solved, but the investigation exposed the degenerate character of the rich but bored British colonial community known as the Happy Valley set.

Their affairs, wife-swapping and hard drinking were recreated in the 1987 movie White Mischief starring Charles Dance and Greta Scacchi.

The Kenyan police's initial view that Trzebinski's murder was a car-jacking was widely discounted, as neither his car, nor his expensive watch or a wad of cash in his wallet was stolen.

Rumours soon surfaced that the killing was an act of revenge, and police questioned Anna and other family members and friends. It has since emerged that the murder may have links to organised crime. 

The shooting came after a furious row which ended Trzebinski's volatile marriage to his German-born wife Anna (pictured)

Only now, after the persistence of Trzebinski's mother, who in another bizarre parallel with the Happy Valley case has the Christian name Errol, have the Kenyan authorities agreed to hold a proper inquiry.

Mrs Trzebinski, 79, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I lost my beloved son and while mourning him I came to realise that there may be extremely sinister undertones to his murder.

'The police wanted it to be wrapped up as just another opportunist crime. But I talked to everyone and anyone involved in his life, and I persuaded a team of undercover detectives to listen to me and to interrogate many witnesses.'

In a setback for the investigation, however, the police appear to have 'lost' the entire file on her son's case – only strengthening Mrs Trzebinski's suspicions of a conspiracy.

A court official has admitted that 'foul play' may have taken place and the officers involved could face disciplinary action, but the investigation may have to be relaunched if the file cannot be found.

Speaking at her home on the island of Lamu, off the Kenyan coast, Mrs Trzebinski vowed to keep fighting for justice for her son and said detectives had assured her that her efforts had not been in vain. 

She said they had told her that her son's murder, far from being an opportunistic crime or even a revenge killing, could have been a professional 'hit' ordered by associates of his who were worried that he knew too much about their criminal activities.

Trzebinski, 41, was driving towards the villa owned by his mistress, professional game-hunter Natasha Illum-Berg (pictured), when he was killed by a single shot fired at point-blank range into his chest

Mrs Trzebinski said: 'They expect this case to lift the lid on the underbelly of seedy crime in Nairobi, including money-laundering by casinos and large-scale drug dealing'.

Mrs Trzebinski, who was born in Britain before moving to Kenya and marrying a Polish architect, is the first to admit that her son, who was a widely exhibited artist who trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, ran with a fast-living crowd who openly used cocaine and held wild parties.

Having returned to Kenya from London in his 20s, he fell in with a group dubbed 'The Fun Squad', a hard-drinking crowd who loved to party. Trzebinski even had a vodka-tonic cocktail named after him – the Tonio.

His mother said: 'He was probably the wildest of them all, doing everything to the maximum.' She said on the day of his murder, his wife Anna was in America on a therapy course called Women Who Love Too Much, while he had been taking care of their two children.

Once the children were in bed, he drove off to see Ms IllumBerg.

Detective Sergeant Guy Adams, a Scotland Yard family liaison officer, who comforted Mrs Trzebinski at the time of the murder, said: 'All these years I have been contacting Kenyan police and Interpol to try to get some closure for the family. I'm glad to hear there is to be a full inquiry at last.'