Was Institutionalised Police Homophobia To Blame For No Investigation Into Burglary of Dead Media Tycoon's Flat?

On February 10th 2007 the founder of the Gaydar website Gary Frisch was found dead below the window of his eighth-floor flat in Wandsworth, South London. A verdict of misadventure was recorded by Dr Paul Knapman, the coroner at the inquest. A pathologist, Dr Peter Wilkins, said raised levels of ketmaine were found in Mr Frisch's blood and liver.

On that day, February 10th 2007, Trevor Martin and Henry Badenhorst (deceased) entered Gary Frisch's flat and removed drugs, money and various valuable items from the flat, which at the time was a crime scene. Trevor Martin (Retired) told me personally that he had removed items including drugs and other items from Gary's flat. This was confirmed to me in a recorded conversation by Anna Venditti (Finacial Controller at Legal Partners), another QSoft board member and long-time personal confidante of Henry Badenhorst. Ms Venditti’s relationship with Mr Martin was less personable as he referred to her as “just a paper pusher”. The conversation can be heard here. 

Gary Frisch's brother, Eric Frisch who is a South African resident was at the flat for his birthday on 29 January 2007 and has said that there was £50,000 in cash in Gary's safe, various items of diamond jewelry, his valuable watch collection and £250,000 worth of unmarked diamonds that Eric had brought over from the Congo. Eric had returned to South Africa by the time his brother died but returned to the UK one week after his death. He was told by Henry Badenhorst that no one had been in Gary's flat since his death.

Trevor Martin
Brokered Management Buyout

When Henry and Eric entered Gary's flat together Eric says that there was an old copy of Gary's will on the coffee table in the flat, but this was not the will that was executed and left Gary's Substantial estate to Henry including his majority share of QSoft Consulting worth £2.85 million at the time according to the will. While Henry and Eric were long term partners their relationship had ended extremely acrimoniously eight months earlier. Henry was an executor of the will that was registered and processed. Eric also stated that Gary had talked about having a contract put on Henry's life to have him assasinated. 

When Eric asked Henry about the items that were in the safe, which was now empty, Eric was told that these items had been stolen by the police. Eric did not question this until several years after his death when he learned the flat had been entered by Henry Badenhorst and Trevor Martin but was met by a wall of silence and denial by all QSoft borad members.

Anna Venditti
FC at Legal Partners

At that time I was an employee of QSoft Consulting. I received a phone call from the Marketing Director and Board Member of QSoft at the time, Trevor Martin, my recent ex-partner of 9 years from the house that we owned together near Reading. He informed me that Gary had died and that on no account was I to tell anyone this had happened as the management of QSoft, of which Gary Frisch was a majority shareholder could make sure that "the company could carry on as normal". I believe that Trevor Martin was the first person that Henry Badenhorst, the other major shareholder of QSoft had called after Gary's death. Mr. Martin told me he was coming to London immediately and was meeting with Henry Badenhorst.

It was three years later that I myself talked to Eric Frish in Johannesburg. I was keen to know his version of events and when I explained what had happened in the immediate hours after his brother's death. Initially Eric Frisch tried to ask Henry Badenhorst what had happened immediately after his brother's death. He was blackballed and he says that Henry started rumours with mutual acquaintances including Gary's friends that he was trying to steal money from Henry Badenhorst.

Eric Frisch registered this as a crime with the Metropolitan Police but they decided that there was no case to answer. He also made a complaint about police corruption regarding the theft of his brother's personal items, jewelry, watches and £50,000 cash but was told that since a year had passed, they do not investigate allegations of police corruption and that police officers had stolen items worth tens of thousands of pounds. 

The case was then referred to the IPCC who also declined to investigate any of his claims.

In May 2013, it was announced that the Gaydar website had been sold to Charlie Parsons, the creator of Channel 4's the Big Breakfast in a management buyout that saw Trevor Martin Become Managing Director of Gaydar and a shareholder. Trevor Martin had at least one meeting with Mr. Paron's partner, Lord Wahid Ali at the House of Lords prior to the buyout.

Anna Venditti received £50,000 in cash from Henry Badenhorst's will and shares in his company following his death in November 2017. 

I believe that institutional homophobia was responsible for the police not investigating what can only be described as a heist on the estate of Gary Frisch before his body was even cold. The recent cases by the Metropolitan Police show that institutionalised racism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia are rampant within our police force. Certainly, with this 'case' there are still many questions that the family of Mr. Gary Frisch deserve answers to from the police and the survivors who benefitted financially from Gary Frisch's death.

We have contacted Trevor Martin and Anna Venditti for comment.