- Jeanette Bishop May disappeared with her secretary in 1980
- They were found 14 months later in a very decomposed state.
- Italian authorities are reinvestigating the disappearance.
Italian police have reopened the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the former Lady de Rothschild in a snowstorm in Italy in 1980.
Jeanette Bishop May, former Lady de Rothschild and former model, and Gabriella Guérin, her secretary, disappeared in a freak snowstorm in the Marche region of northern Italy in November 1980.
The subsequent search for the pair, using helicopters and dogs, failed and it was not until 14 months later that hunters discovered their decomposing bodies near Lake Fiastra in the Sibillini Mountains.
An autopsy revealed that wild boars had ravaged their carcasses, erasing any chance of the cause of their deaths being fully understood. An initial investigation said they died of hypothermia.
As a result, the story of the death of the socialite and her secretary has taken on a life of its own, giving rise to wild speculation, including her alleged links to the mafia, an art theft in Rome, the murder of an Italian antiques dealer and the 1982 death of an Italian banker in London.
This week, Macerata city police said they would hear testimony from a dozen witnesses who knew both women.
Jeanette Bishop May, former Lady de Rothschild and former model, (pictured) disappeared in 1980
The former Lady Rothschild disappeared with her secretary Gabriella Guerin (pictured)
They disappeared in the Italian region of Marche in 1980
Sir Evelyn De Rothschild attends the 10th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards at Sheraton New York Times Square on September 19, 2016 in New York City
While chief prosecutor Giovanni Fabrizio Narbone declined to reveal why he had reopened the cold case, he confirmed that a double murder investigation into the women’s deaths had been reopened.
“We reread all the records to see if there were any indications that would allow us to evaluate the existence of contradictions, and we felt that there was a possibility of getting to the bottom of the matter,” Narbone told local media.
“The more time passes, the more people who might have been involved in this story, or who knew about it, will disappear.”
Jeanette Bishop May was married to Sir Evelyn De Rothschild, the financier who was part of the international dynasty, between 1966 and 1971, before divorcing him and marrying businessman Stephen May.
At the time of her disappearance, she was in the Marche region renovating a house she had recently purchased and was last seen driving a Peugeot on a mountain road in poor weather conditions.
The car was found three weeks later. Investigators found no signs of struggle or force.
Surveyor Nazzareno Venanzi, one of the last people to see the former Lady de Rothschild alive, told local media at the time: “In the morning she showed me a door she liked for the cottage she was renovating.
‘We had a snack before lunch, then she asked me if I wanted to accompany them both up the mountain that night, but I declined because I was busy. When I found out that they were not returning to their hotel, I became concerned and notified the police.
“She was lovely, a well-mannered former model,” he said. “It wasn’t until after her death that I learned she was well known in England, the ex-wife of the banker Rothschild.”
