Death of Zac Brettler
Zachary Josh Brettler (20 September 2000[1] – 29 November 2019) was a British teenager who fell to his death in London on the early morning of 29 November 2019. He was recorded on CCTV leaping from the balcony of a luxury Millbank riverside apartment owned by a Saudi princess and occupied by Verinder "Indian Dave" Sharma, a London gangster.[2][3]
Background
[edit]After Brettler's death, it was revealed that the 19-year-old had been living a double life. While born and raised in Maida Vale by prosperous British Jewish parents, Rachel and Matthew, the grandson of a notable rabbi, Hugo Gryn, and educated at Mill Hill School,[4][5] Brettler was living as "Zac Ismailov," son of a fictitious Russian oligarch who was poised to inherit millions.[2]
A pathologist stated that Brettler had a broken jaw, which could not be explained by the fall.[6][7][8][9] While only Sharma was in the apartment when Brettler leapt from the balcony, businessman Akbar Shamji had been with them earlier in the night and returned to the apartment shortly after Brettler's death.[2]
Investigation and inquest
[edit]The police interviewed both Sharma and Shamji multiple times about Brettler's death. Sharma replied "no comment" to almost all of their questions.[6] Shamji was interviewed twice and his testimony contained many inconsistencies. By 2022, the investigation had stalled due in part to police errors, including not swabbing the apartment for blood and failing to press Shamji on why his car GPS did not match his testimony.[10] At the inquest, Brettler's death was ruled as "open."[3]
Sharma died in December 2020 of an overdose in his Riverwalk apartment.[3][10]
Public interest and aftermath
[edit]The death is explored by author Patrick Radden Keefe in a 2024 article for The New Yorker, "A Teen's Fatal Plunge into the London Underworld" which generated worldwide attention.[10] This interest led to multiple other articles, especially in London, written about the circumstances and people involved in Brettler's death.[11] Shamji and his wife hired a PR firm to handle the fallout and shield her fashion house, SAFiYAA.[2]
Keefe expanded his article into a book entitled London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth that was published in 2026.[12][13][2]
References
[edit]- ^ Pogrund, Gabriel (11 February 2024). "Their teenage boy fell to his death. But a Met inquiry left more questions than answers". The Sunday Times.
- ^ a b c d e Langfitt, Frank (2026-04-04). "'London Falling': A teenage imposter, an aging gangster and a body in the Thames". NPR. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- ^ a b c Kirk, Tristan (17 April 2024). "Gangland enforcer 'stressed' by murder probe when he took fatal drug overdose". The Standard.
- ^ Moore, Anna (7 April 2026). "A gangster, a bogus inheritance and a dead 19-year-old: the mystery Patrick Radden Keefe couldn't ignore". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ^ Thomson, Ian (7 April 2026). "London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe review – a compulsive tale of money, lies and avoidable tragedy". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ^ a b Keefe, Patrick Radden (5 February 2024). "A Teen's Fatal Plunge into the London Underworld". The New Yorker.
- ^ "The Met, the mysterious balcony death and the parents demanding answers". The Times. 7 February 2024.
- ^ Pogrund, Gabriel; Gillard, Michael; Midolo, Emanuele (2024-02-17). "Secret life and death of the gangster who last saw balcony fall teen". The Times. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- ^ Pogrund, Gabriel; Midolo, Emanuele; Menzies, Venetia (6 April 2024). "The dead teenager, the lying suspect and the black box that proves it". The Sunday Times.
- ^ a b c Pogrund, Gabriel; Menzies, Venetia; Midolo, Emanuele; Mooney, John (2026-05-16). "Zac Brettler fell to his death. The only man with answers is living it up". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- ^ Miller, Laura (2026-04-04). "London Falling Is a Remarkable True-Crime Story". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- ^ Szalai, Jennifer (April 8, 2026). "A Teenager Plunged to His Death. A Reporter Found More to the Story" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Thomson, Ian (April 7, 2026). "London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe review – a compulsive tale of money, lies and avoidable tragedy". The Guardian.
Further reading
[edit]- Keefe, Patrick Radden. (2026). London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-54853-3.