Father dies, leaves £70,000 will to secret bride

Michael Evans’ children were left in the dark about the 63-year-old’s double life, which saw him marry a woman half his age five years ago. They only found out about the car mechanic’s lifestyle when they discovered a wedding photo after Mr Evans died in San Salvador while secretly visiting a 37-year-old woman he met […]

Michael Evans’ children were left in the dark about the 63-year-old’s double life, which saw him marry a woman half his age five years ago.

They only found out about the car mechanic’s lifestyle when they discovered a wedding photo after Mr Evans died in San Salvador while secretly visiting a 37-year-old woman he met on the internet.

Now Nadia Evans, who is in her 30s, has inherited her late husband’s £70,000 estate – much to the anger of his children.   

Mr Evans, from Birmingham, also had two other ex-wives, one English and the other Swedish, and a total of nine children.

He died while visiting a widow who he had met online two months prior to his death in July 2006.

His inquest recently heard transcripts of interviews with student Marina Ignacia Benita De Giovani, who Mr Evans was staying with in San Salvador.

She said the pair had been in a restaurant with Ms De Giovani’s son when Mr Evans said he wanted to go swimming, so she took him to a beach in San Diego in the La Libertad region of the country.

‘They both went into the water, then she said she wanted to get out and massage her legs,’ the transcript read.

‘While she was massaging her legs she looked out to sea but she couldn’t see him.’  

Mr Evans’ body was then spotted and pulled out of the water by tourists, but they were unable to find a pulse.

He had been suffering from a heart condition, for which he was taking medication.

A post mortem examination revealed he had drowned.

Mr Evans’ sister, Dawn Taylor, the only one of his relatives to attend the Birmingham inquest, said that she had been contacted after her brother’s death by one of his daughters who wanted to pick up the cheque for nearly £70,000, the total of his estate.

‘She [the daughter] said my brother’s marriage to the Ukrainian lady was not valid. It was only two months ago she released the cheque after three years and it’s gone to Russia,’ Ms Taylor said.

Mrs Taylor, who lives in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, told the inquest that after her brother’s death she contacted the authorities in San Salvador to retrieve his possessions but received only a small box containing a razor, a photo album and a wallet with a £10 note in it.

‘Is this all there is to show for my brother’s life?’ she said.

‘I know he had money with him because he took quite a lot out of the bank. And what happened to all his clothes? It was just awful.’

Mrs Taylor said she learned of the existence of Mr Evans’ Ukrainian wife only after his death and had called her to tell her the bad news.

‘I knew nothing of her. I had never met her,’ Mrs Taylor said.

‘When I spoke to her, she spoke extremely good English and when I told her she was absolutely heartbroken about it.’  

Birmingham and Solihull Coroner Aidan Cotter recorded a verdict of accidental death by drowning.

None of Mr Evans’ children were available for comment.

Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Taylor claimed only three of his children attended Mr Evans’ funeral in 2006 and there had been family squabbles to get hold of his money.

‘My brother had a very colourful life but he didn’t deserve it to end like this,’ she said.

‘All the family now is saying what a fool I was because they can’t get the money. It’s just a mess up. It’s just a horrible end.

‘If I hadn’t found out that Nadia was his wife it would have been hell for me because she was entitled. I had to contact her by law.

‘The children hate me, it’s been horrendous, they weren’t happy at all – they thought they were entitled to this money.’   

Nadia Evans could not be contacted.

Culled from dailymail.co.uk