Nigella Lawson Former Assistants Found Not Guilty of Fraud
Two former assistants to Nigella Lawson were found not guilty of fraud on Friday by a jury in London.
Francesca and Elisabetta "Lisa" Grillo were accused of using of having unauthorized use of Lawson's personal finances and that of her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi. Saatchi is the one who made the allegations and initiated the lawsuit that the former assistants illegally spent more than $1 million of their money. The sisters claimed that they were using as a pawn in the couple's divorce and the jury seemingly agreed.
"We are delighted with the result and the attention the jury gave over many hours and many days,'' Karina Arden, Francesca Grillo's attorney, told CourtNewsUK.
"We are still a bit in shock - we're not the defendants, but it's been a stressful case, as you know,'' Lisa Grillo's attorney, Anthony Metzer, told CourtNewsUK.
During the trial, the celebrity chef was accused of being a drug user. Lawson previously admitted to using cocaine once, but Francesca claimed it was more rampant.
"At the beginning of 2012 there were a few episodes where she came down and she had white powder inside her nostril. A few times I ignored it but other times I told her and she said 'it's just make-up'. It was too white to be make-up," Francesca said.
Francesca added that Lawson found it easier to use drugs during the writing process as she would be up all night.
"She had a runny nose for a long period of time, and at a strange time, in the summer," Francesca said.
Francesca added that Lawson's behavior also changed because of the alleged drug use. According to the housekeeper, her former employer went from caring to losing that essence of herself.
"She had always been a caring, warm person but in the last few years she had started to be grumpy, moody, she had trouble sleeping," she said.