Woman in £2.7m Spitalfields property dispute found dead after Manchester fall
A mother of three who passed away after falling from a Manchester apartment block was involved in an intense High Court battle with her celebrity antiques dealer ex-fiancé over a £2.7 million five-storey Georgian mansion.
Rachel O’Hare, 49, had alleged in court statements that Owen Pacey, 60, locked her out of their home in Spitalfields, east London.
The couple were previously engaged but were set to face off in a courtroom later this year amid a legal dispute over the ownership of the property, according to reports.
Ms. O’Hare was later found dead on June 30 after falling from an apartment in Manchester, where she had been staying.
It came just four days after the latest court hearing over the London property.
The legal battle was over a £2.7m property in Wilkes Street, Spitalfields, east London. Picture: Google maps
Police have said there are no suspicious circumstances around her death, with an inquest set to open this week.
Ms. O’Hare had claimed Mr. Pacey encouraged her to buy the Wilkes Street home in their joint names back in June 2021.
She said she took out a loan and paid for it using cash from her divorce settlement with her millionaire investment manager ex-husband, Steve O’Hare, 50.
Ms. O’Hare and Mr. Pacey had been together for less than a year at that point.
They had met at his upmarket fireplace showroom, Renaissance, in Shoreditch. The antique fireplace business has made fireplaces for high-profile celebrities including Mick Jagger and Naomi Campbell.
Legal papers seen by Mailonline reportedly revealed that when the former couple bought the house together in 2021, they both signed an agreement stating that if one of them were to die, ownership of the house would pass to the living partner.
It was drafted up by lawyers and offered Mr. Pacey and Ms. O’Hare two options.
They could each either own a specified proportion of the entire property or they could have full joint ownership.
The couple chose the latter on 1 August 2021, meaning Mr. Pacey became the sole owner of the property following Ms. O’Hare’s death.
In statements to court before her death, she had claimed the Spitalfields home was rightfully hers, alleging that Mr. Pacey had locked her out.
He had also refused to allow her back in to get her belongings and that he threatened to “trash” the inside.
She said her ex-partner “had no money to contribute when the property was purchased,” but had vowed to “pay for his share in due course.”
He had also put his £5m fireplace business in her name as a backup, she alleged.
They agreed to share the cost of renovating the house, she claimed, spending £14,000 just on radiator valves.
She said if he didn’t pay his share or they broke up, ownership would revert back to her.
Mr. Pacey denied persuading Ms. O’Hare to buy the home in both their names.
He also rejected claims that a formal agreement had been reached to pay for half the property.
A defense statement read: “The parties (Ms. O’Hare and Mr. Pacey) were going to get married and there was just no discussion about who owned what.”
He also denies threatening to “trash” the property or refuse to pay bills, arguing he put the money into renovating the property.
World Affairs Correspondent
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