Britain’s richest divorcee Kirsty Bertarelli has recreated the graphic murder of Kitty Menendez in a questionable Halloween stunt.
Bertarelli, who received a $454million (£350M) divorce settlement from her billionaire husband in 2021, acted out the housewife’s bloody death in a photoshoot on a New York City couch over the weekend.
The former Miss UK titleholder, 56, posted five photos to Instagram this morning in which she has a gory gunshot wound to the face and is wearing a blood-soaked sweatshirt.
Bertarelli praised her hair, make-up and costume team for helping her create Kitty’s look and said the photoshoot was ‘a total blast I will always remember’.
Kitty and her husband José Menéndez were shot dead by their sons Erik and Lyle in 1989 while they were watching television in their Beverly Hills home.
The brothers – following a highly-publicized legal battle which involved two juries, two trials, and one mistrial – were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
Interest in the Menendez murders has grown in recent weeks after Netflix highlighted the brothers’ crime in its new limited series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Kirsty Bertarelli, Britain’s richest divorcee, has recreated the graphic murder of Kitty Menendez in a questionable Halloween stunt
Kitty and her husband José Menéndez were shot dead by their sons Erik and Lyle in 1989 while they were watching television in their Beverly Hills home. Pictured is the bloody couch where the couple were murdered
‘Halloween came early this Year,’ Bertarelli captioned her carousal Instagram post, which featured a series of photos from the recreated murder scene.
‘Taking my role very seriously in the Big City!!!,’ she added, before thanking her children for being the ‘best sports’ and helping with the project.
She applauded her stylists for providing ‘brilliant make up, hair, wigs, costumes’.
‘Who doesn’t love a good dress up!’ Bertarelli continued, before describing the shoot as a ‘total blast I will always remember!!!!’
The beauty queen became Britain’s richest divorcee three years ago when her billionaire husband, Ernesto Bertarelli, agreed to a $454million (£350M) settlement.
In addition to her settlement, she was given a spectacular modern house by Lake Geneva in Switzerland which was purchased in 2023 for £52million. She also owns an £8million chalet in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad.
The Staffordshire-born singer-songwriter, who co-wrote All Saints’ No 1 single Black Coffee, and Ernesto secretly divorced in October 2021 after their 21-year marriage hit the rocks. The couple share their children.
Before their divorce, the couple were jointly listed in 14th place in 2022 Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune estimated at a staggering £9.2billion – bigger than the gross domestic product of many countries, including the Bahamas, Brunei and Armenia.
Bertarelli is believed to have signed a prenuptial agreement before marrying Italian-born Ernesto in 2000.
Bertarelli posed as blood-covered Kitty from her couch in New York City , she revealed this morning on Instagram. The former Miss UK titleholder, channeling the likeness of the late housewife, praised her hair, make-up and costume team for helping her create the look and said the photoshoot was ‘a total blast I will always remember’
Kirsty Bertarelli became Britain’s richest divorcee three years ago when her billionaire husband, Ernesto Bertarelli, agreed to a £350million settlement
Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez, right, eventually admitted killing their parents Kitty and Jose
Lyle (left) and Erik (right) Menendez were both convicted of first-degree murder in the 1989 shooting of their parents Jose and Kitty. The brothers (pictured in 1990) were both sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole
The brothers claimed their actions were a result of years of sexual abuse by their father Jose Menendez, who was a top Hollywood executive. But authorities said that greed was the true motive, citing a lavish spending spree that followed the murders. Pictured: Erik, left in 2016, and Lyle, right in 2018
Bertarelli was born Kirsty Roper in the Staffordshire market town of Stone to a well-off family behind one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of ceramic products, Churchill China in Stoke-on-Trent.
After moving to London, she partied with socialites such as Elizabeth Hurley, Tamara Beckwith and Tamara Mellon.
Among those who fell for her charms was gambling and wildlife park heir Damian Aspinall, whose ex-wife Louise named her in their divorce.
But Bertarelli denied that anything happened while Damian and Louise were still together. ‘He was already separated,’ she explained. ‘At least, that’s what he told me.’
She joined the super-rich after meeting bio-tech tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli at a dinner party in Sardinia.
Twice a winner of sailing’s top prize, the America’s Cup, he is said to have bought the £100million British-built superyacht Vava II for his wife’s 40th birthday.
After being crowned Miss UK in 1988, Kirsty Bertarelli was second runner-up in that year’s Miss World pageant. She then became a successful pop singer and songwriter
The couple, pictured together at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, divorced in 2021 after 21 years of marriage. They share three children together
After being crowned Miss UK in 1988, Bertarelli was second runner-up in that year’s Miss World pageant. She then became a successful pop singer and songwriter.
‘So many people would just go off on their yacht and spend their life drinking champagne, but not me,’ she said. ‘You should grasp life. Singing has been inside me my whole life and I can’t not do it.’
Bertarelli posted a heartfelt message on Instagram in July 2022 to mark her 20th wedding anniversary.
‘Twenty years together today!! Taking a little spin with you to mark the occasion of one hell of an amazing journey!’ she wrote. ‘With you always by my side and me always by yours. I love you so very much!’
She said in a rare interview several years before, marriage to Ernesto proved the gateway to an ‘amazing’ life, pictured on social media showing the pair jetting off to exotic locations, exclusive beach clubs, and ski resorts.
It came as a shock to many when the couple quietly divorced after 21 years of marriage. A source told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘Only a very few were aware of what was going on.
It came as a shock to many when the Kirsty and Ernesto Bertarelli, pictured together, quietly divorced. A source told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘Only a very few were aware of what was going on. They have both been very discreet. They still have a lot of respect for each other’
‘They have both been very discreet. They still have a lot of respect for each other.’
Bertarelli was represented by Baroness (Fiona) Shackleton, the lawyer known as the Steel Magnolia who represented Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney in their divorces.
One of her friends told the previously told The Mail: ‘The settlement was more generous than it had to be.
‘They didn’t want a long, drawn-out court case in Switzerland and he wanted to recognize the length of their marriage.’