London banker James Starkey who was tortured and murdered was due to return to UK today

Pic:James Starkey
Crime reporter(wp/es):

A London banker found strangled to death in a penthouse apartment in South Africa while on a work trip was due back in the UK today, friends revealed. 

James Starkey, 36, from Woolwich, was found dead after apparently inviting his attacker into the flat in Johannesburg.

Today it emerged he proposed to his fiancée, who wishes to remain anonymous, just two weeks before being murdered when she flew from London to visit him in South Africa.

Friends said she was left “distraught” by the killing and suspected the perpetrators targeted Mr Starkey, who worked for City consultancy firm Catalyst, because they thought they thought he was a wealthy foreigner.   

One friend said: “His fiancée is distraught. We’re all in shock. It seems to be a case of a white banker staying in an estate where it’s white people and I think people have been watching him and mistakenly thought he had money.

“There’s no forced entry so we imagine he may have let them in. Family members did go to see the body and it looks like he’s been tortured. It’s tragic. He was due to return to London today. He was a top guy.

“Their plans were to go to Australia (Mr Starkey’s home country) and get married.”

His body was found in Raphael Penthouse Suites building on October 8 when staff forced open the door after a colleague raised concerns.

Staff at the upmarket block have been quizzed by investigators, while management of the building confirmed they had scanned security footage after finding the dead body and handed all relevant material to detectives.

The Raphael Penthouse apartments are next to Nelson Mandela Square, one of Johannesburg’s best-known tourist hot spots. The complex, owned by Legacy Hotels, is accessed through several sets of security card-protected doors. Reception staff are accompanied by 24-hour security guards.

David Stroud, from Legacy Hotels, said that Mr Starkey appeared to have let his attacker into the building. He said: “This incident was not a breach of security in the building and took place between the tenant and his invited guest in a private apartment.

“We are not in the habit of presuming to tell occupants who they should or should not have visit them.”

Mr Starkey, who had worked for a host of top banks including Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, was apparently planning to settle back in Australia.

His family told the Sydney Morning Herald: “Words cannot describe how devastated we are.

“James lived life to the full and certainly had everything to live for, having recently become engaged and planning to return to settle in Australia in the near future.”