Nightclub boss accused of conning banker ex 'died due to drugs'

Nightclub boss accused of conning her late Goldman Sachs banker lover out of slice of his £18m fortune died from cocktail of drugs, inquest hears

• Magdalena Zalinska was found dead by police in her Clapham flat in March  

A former nightclub boss accused of conning her late lover out of a chunk of his £18million fortune died from a cocktail of drugs, an inquest heard today.

Magdalena Zalinska was found unresponsive at her London flat by police in March after they were alerted by her friends.

The 46-year-old, who was accused of being a ‘call girl’ in a bitter financial dispute with her former lover’s family, had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, Inner West London Coroner’s Court was told.

At the time of her death, she was embroiled in a bitter legal fight with the family of her former lover Danny Truell who had managed billions for City firms and the Wellcome Trust charity.

They had accused the divorced mother-of-two of using ‘undue influence’ to gain £3.5million in cash from him while he was suffering from a neurological disease which claimed his life in 2019 aged 55.

Polish-born Ms Zalinska was being sued in the High Court by Mr Truell’s brother Edi over payments made to her by his brother.

Magdalena Zalinska was found unresponsive at her London flat by police in March after they were alerted by her friends

At the time of her death, Ms Zalinska was embroiled in a bitter legal fight with the family of her former lover Danny Truell who had managed billions for City firms and the Wellcome Trust charity

Pictured is Ms Zalinska who was locked in a £4million court fight over Danny Truell’s fortune before her death in March 

The case was due to be heard in the High Court next year, but the sudden death of Ms Zalinska could mean the money is never recovered.

The dispute centred on the nature of the relationship Zalinska had with Truell, a contemporary of former PM Boris Johnson, and a lifelong Labour supporter.

In her evidence to the High Court Ms Zalinska had said they were in a loving relationship for 14 years and denied an accusation that she was a call girl.

Former Goldman Sachs banker Truell divorced his wife of 16 years, Naomi, in 2011, and the following year he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which later became a form of motor neurone disease.

In his will he described Ms Zalinska, as his ‘partner and dependent’.

The court battle was over a series of transfers to her before Mr Truell died.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE Goldman Sachs banker’s Polish lover – who ‘conned him out of £4million chunk of his estate’ before he died aged 55 – is found dead in London flat 

These included £1.34million paid between 2013 and 2018 to a company through which she operated her London nightclub, Southwark Rooms.

Another £915,000 went to her directly in electronic transfers, £1.36million on spending and withdrawals using his debit card, while he also transferred to her his interest in the flat she had previously rented from him in Clapham, where her body was discovered earlier this year.

Mr Truell’s brother Edi, 61, who is also a City financier, claimed that although she had a sexual relationship with his brother, she was his paid carer from 2012 and did not live with him.

An inquest held remotely was attended by her Ms Zalinska’s teenage daughter Aleksandra and her solicitor.

The court was told that Ms Zalinska had a 20-year history of drug and alcohol abuse.

In a statement to Inner West London Coroner’s Court her GP Nita Bass said she had been treated for cocaine and amphetamine addiction.

She had also drunk up to a litre of vodka a day and had previously been referred to rehab centres for treatment.

The court was told she had been under stress due in 2022 to the on-going legal action and been prescribed a course of anti-depressants.

Polish-born Ms Zalinska was being sued in the High Court by Mr Truell’s brother Edi (pictured) over payments made to her by his brother

The court was told that Ms Zalinska had a 20-year history of drug and alcohol abuse

Prior to being found dead at her flat in Clapham, south London, nurse practitioner James Kwon told the inquest he had attended with police after friends had expressed concern for her welfare.

He told the coroner Russell Caller she had expressed suicidal thoughts and had asked for another course of anti-depressant pills.

PC Daniel Redding told the inquest he broke into the flat and found Ms Zalinska lying on a sofa with white foam coming from her mouth. He said she had no pulse and paramedics were called.

A postmortem carried out at St George’s Hospital found high levels of cocaine and methadone in her system.

Coroner Dr Russell Caller recorded her death as drug related.

He told her daughter:’ You have my sympathy in what you have been through.’

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