UK high street millionaire found dead by cleaners in horror mansion discovery

A multimillionaire whose private equity firm controls several high street brands including Majestic Wine and Poundstretcher was discovered dead following a dispute with his wife, an inquest has heard.

Joshua Pack, 51, was found by cleaners in a locked top-floor bedroom at his rented mansion in St John’s Wood, Westminster, London, just hours after the altercation with wife Jacqueline. The pair had been relocating to the UK from their home in the US to oversee the expansion of investment giant Fortress, a company worth $50billion (£37billion).

In a written statement to the inquest, Mrs Pack disclosed that she and her husband of 28 years were “rowing all night” prior to his death after “drinking on and off throughout the day”.

She said: “We were high school sweethearts. Josh was a devout Catholic who worked so hard to support me and the children, the most important thing in his life. But there were tensions, as in any long-term marriage.”

Mrs Pack said the dispute began during a walk home after her husband learnt through his PA that there had been problems with his tickets for an upcoming flight back to the US, which he had tried to bring forward to travel alongside his wife. The row intensified shortly after they returned to the mansion, and saw Mr Pack throw her “phone across the room” and begin “hitting himself with it”, she said.

Matters deteriorated further when Josh “went to the cupboard and took out a knife” before handing it to Mrs Pack, saying: “Stick it into me.”

The pair then made threats to take their own lives, though she noted this was a common occurrence during their rows, adding: “I never meant it, and I certainly never thought that Josh meant it.”

He was discovered dead by household staff at around 3pm the following day, the inquest heard. Prof Wilcox at Inner West London Coroner’s Court returned a conclusion of death by misadventure.