Ex-wife Of Property Tycoon Scot Young Killed In Fall From Penthouse ...

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Ex-wife of property tycoon Scot Young killed in fall from penthouse flat says 'we've been to hell and back'

Michelle Young: was awarded £20m by a high court judge last year. (Picture: Matt Writtle)Ben Morgan|John Dunne @jhdunne|Paul Cheston|Justin Davenport11 December 2014 WEST END FINAL

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The family of a tycoon involved in Britain’s most acrimonious divorce battle told of their “hell” today after he plunged to his death onto railings from his penthouse flat.

Scot Young, 52, said to have made a £2 billion fortune as a fixer for the super rich, suffered horrific injuries after falling four storeys from the window of his £3 million rented home in Marylebone.

The bankrupt property magnate’s death comes just over a year after he was jailed for six months at the conclusion of a bitter divorce battle with his ex-wife for refusing to reveal details of his wealth.

Michelle Young, 49, who won a £20 million payout after the six year courtroom fight, said today she was with the couple’s two daughters after hearing the news of her ex-husband’s death saying: “We have been to hell and back.”

Scot young and Noelle Reno on holiday together in Bali

The family had gathered at their flat in Victoria and Ms Young told the Standard: “I am too upset to speak at the moment I just have to look after my children and make sure they are OK. It is a very difficult time for us all.”

A friend said: “She is obviously devastated and needs time to come to terms with this.”

Police at the scene on Montagu square Picture: Nigel Howard

Mr Young, a friend of many leading British businessmen including Topshop billionaire Sir Philip Green and restaurateur Richard Caring, was found dead at 5pm on Monday, his body impaled on iron railings outside the duplex apartment in Montagu Square he shared with his 31-year-old American girlfriend Noelle Reno.

Firefighters had to cut through the railings with an angle grinder to release the body. Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious.

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The couple moved into the flat in July and Ms Reno, a former model who stars in reality TV show Ladies of London alongside supermodel Caprice, said it would be a “happy little home, for our happy little life.”

A spokesman for Ms Reno, who also writes a travel blog detailing holidays around the world, including one she took with Mr Young to Bali earlier this year, said she was too upset to comment. It is not clear if she was at home at the time of his death.

Her most recent tweet, posted on December 7, said: “No matter what the day throws, I know I can handle it if my day starts with meditation (even if it’s day £4 of insane xmas parties!!)”

Mr Young, the son of former Scottish Footballer Duncan Young, became hugely sucessful through a string of business and property deals and in 2006 had built up a £400 million fortune.

He and his ex-wife enjoyed a string of lavish properties, including a nine-bedroom mansion in Oxfordshire and a £6 million beach house in Florida.

Death fall: Scot Young, with fiancee Noelle Reno Picture: Dave Benett

The businessman travelled the world by private jet while the couple spent £5,000 on meals and enjoyed holidays on a £3 million yacht.

Then by the end of 2006, as the couple began to grow apart, Mr Young claimed to have lost all his money in a financial “meltdown.”

The couple separated in the same year after 11 years of marriage and became embroiled in a divorce battle with Ms Young claiming half his assets saying he was worth “a few billion pounds at least.”

Young was ordered to hand his ex-wife £27,500 a month to pay rent and school fees for their two daughters in November 2012.

But he claimed the collapse of a £2 billion property deal in Moscow had left him penniless and he was unable to make the payments.

A man fell to his death yesterday afternoon Picture: Nigel Howard

Ms Young contested the claim and Mr Young was jailed for six months at the High Court in January 2013 for what the judge called a “flagrant and deliberate” contempt of court.

The judge Mr Justice Moor assessed Mr Young was worth £40 million and said Ms Young was entitled to half that sum.

The judge described the litigation as ”quite extraordinary” saying that over six years Mrs Young had run up a legal bill of more than £6m and employed 13 sets of lawyers and four teams of accountants

Death fall: Police at the scene Picture: Nigel Howard

In May last year, Ms Young told the Evening Standard her former partner had attempted suicide and sought help at the Priory clinic at the time of their break-up.

Mr Young claimed in court he had been “harassed” by private detectives and the long-running court battle had taken a heavy toll on his health. He was declared bakrupt in 2010.

He said he recently had been “detained” in hospital under mental health legislation and had been unable to secure the services of a barrister.

Neighbours in the exclusive Montagu Square, where Beatle’s drummer Ringo Starr once owned a flat, today told of their shock at Young’s death.

One said: “He moved in with his girlfriend a few months ago, but they kept themselves to themselves. I only ever saw him once.”

A leading divorce lawyer said Ms Young now faces a major litigation headache to recover what she claims to be her fair share of her husband’s wealth.

Hannah Budd, a partner in The International Family Law Group LLP, said: “In light of Mr Young’s death Mrs Young will have claims against his estate under the Inheritance Act to provide for reasonable provision for her.

“The real difficulty here will be identifying those assets which fall within the estate which was the crux of the issue on their divorce.

“It may now become easier to unravel Mr Young’s financial affairs but the reality is that Mrs Young may be facing significant further litigation in order to do so.”

In March this year the High Court heard that Ms Young had yet to see a penny of her £20 million settlement, three months after it was awarded by a judge.