Film director 'killed in her London home for her Rolex'

Jennifer Abbott's diamond-encrusted watch is missing from her apartment, police say

Jennifer Abbott, 69, was found stabbed at her home in London. Her Rolex watch is missing. PA

A film director found murdered in her flat may have been killed for her diamond-encrusted Rolex watch, police have said.

Jennifer Abbott, known professionally as Sarah Steinberg, was discovered in her flat with tape over her mouth when a neighbour helped her concerned niece break down the door.

The 69-year-old was last seen walking her pet corgi in Camden, north London, on June 10 and was found dead three days later.

A 66-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday and remains in police custody, the Metropolitan Police said.

London has in recent years been hit by a ‘Rolex ripper’ crime wave, in which highly organised criminal groups work in the city to snatch luxury watches from victims, often from their wrists but also from their homes.

The Met Police said detectives were keeping an open mind about the motive for the murder but are appealing for information about a Rolex watch with a distinctive diamond-encrusted face that they believe is missing from Ms Abbott’s apartment.

“We are working closely with our colleagues in the homicide team to establish exactly what happened and it's incredibly important that we hear from anyone who may have knowledge about how this awful death occurred,” said Ch Supt Jason Stewart.

Police at Jennifer Abbott's flat in Camden, north London. PA

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said her son went to help Ms Abbott's niece and the pair made the harrowing discovery.

“My son broke the door down. We heard her niece shouting: 'Somebody help me, somebody help,' and we went out and asked: 'What's wrong?'” the neighbour said.

“She said: 'I haven't heard from my auntie in four days. Something's wrong – break the door down.'

“I was holding the door open downstairs and my son was upstairs and then I heard her niece screaming and saying: 'Oh my God, she's been murdered.' She had tape across her mouth.”

She described Ms Abbott as a “mysterious, and very smart and intelligent” woman who “had done a lot of things in her life”.

“She was a doctor but she was also an actor and director in America,” the neighbour said. “She'd directed a movie and I looked at it on YouTube and saw her interviewed in Los Angeles.”

International business executives have voiced concern about visiting London, even the most high-end areas, for fear their expensive watches will be stolen.

The Met Police has dedicated extra resources to fighting the crime wave. This year the force revealed details of an operation in which undercover officers wearing luxury watches late at night in central London were used as bait to lure robbers, before their colleagues moved in to make arrests.

The criminals include a gang of Algerian thieves operating from North Africa to the UK to carry out lucrative robberies.

Using background details provided by the Met Police about the Algerian-led gang, court documents and coverage of their trial, as well as speaking to experts, The National was able to piece together how they went about their work and how the booming market in stolen watches drew them to the streets of London.