The ex-partner of a German man who claims his British girlfriend died accidentally in a “sex game gone wrong” believes he is innocent. Police are considering a charge of pre-intentional homicide for heavily tattooed Marc S, 29, after the death of 22-year-old Anna Florence Reed. A judge is due to decide whether to charge Miss Reed’s boyfriend. Her body was discovered on the marble bathroom floor of their room at the £200-a-night Ramada La Palma au Lac hotel in Switzerland at about 7am on Tuesday. Hotel guests reported hearing shouting coming from the room during an alleged row just hours earlier at 3am, and Marc S has claimed to detectives she died accidentally in a “sex game gone wrong”, local media reported. But his former partner doesn’t believe it was a case of murder.
The daughter of a multi-millionaire is said to have died from suffocation or asphyxiation, and had small fractures and cuts on her body. Marc’s former girlfriend has told a Swiss newspaper she was “1,000 per cent sure” that the father of her children had not deliberately killed Miss Reed and it “must have been an accident”. The former partner told Blick she believes Marc is innocent. The woman, who asked not to be named out of consideration for their children, said tearfully: “I’m shocked by what I read. It’s a nightmare.”
She said he had been in Thailand and recently told her that he was coming to Switzerland to visit their children. The ex-partner added: “I’ve always wondered how he could afford such a lifestyle, without any regular income. “He had not been violent towards me.” Miss Reed and Marc had checked into the luxury four-star hotel in Locarno, an Italian-speaking resort on Lake Maggiore in the Swiss Alps, on Monday for a holiday.
They had posed for a smiling photo on the terrace in the picturesque resort after checking in. It is thought they had arrived in Switzerland after a holiday in Thailand. Guests claim they heard an apparent row inside the room at about 3am on Tuesday. A porter was allegedly sent to their premium Room 501 to calm things down. Later, Marc appeared “agitated” when he went to the reception desk, and an ambulance was called. Miss Reed, a former pupil at £14,000-a-year Ashville College in Harrogate, was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor when paramedics arrived at the lakeside hotel.
They were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene at the 68-room hotel. A post-mortem was carried out and determined Miss Reed, originally from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, died from suffocation or asphyxiation. She also had small fractures and cuts on her body, according to local media reports. Marc S, a German national who lives in Zurich, was arrested. Police are considering a charge of pre-intentional homicide, said police. He remains in custody. Photos published by Swiss media showed forensic investigators in full-body suits on the balcony of the hotel room on Thursday. Around 30 minutes before Miss Reed was found dead, a source claims he left their room and took the lift down to the lobby.
He appeared “agitated” and told the receptionist that his girlfriend “had a problem with her health”. The source said: “They had checked in as a couple on the weekend. “They were shown to Room 501. All seemed fine. “But then early on Tuesday morning he appeared in the reception. It was claimed he appeared “agitated” and said his girlfriend had a problem with her health. “The receptionist could tell by his tone that it was serious so called an ambulance immediately. “A few minutes later the ambulance was at the hotel. The medics went straight up to the room. She was on the floor of the bathroom.
“They tried to resuscitate her but there was no response. She was already dead. “It was the ambulance crew who then alerted the police. “The cause of death was not clear. “The boyfriend was spoken to at the hotel by police and then he went to a police station. He was interrogated and he cooperated. He was then arrested at the end of the afternoon.” The couple had paid a premium to secure Room 501 on the top floor and had been due to stay “several days”. On the day they checked in they reportedly visited a boutique where Marc S bought two expensive dresses in cash. Photos posted on social media show the couple’s travels to exotic locations around the world.
Members of Miss Reed’s family have flown to Switzerland. Her father Clive, 62, is a trustee at Copgrove Hall Stud in Occaney, one of his employees said. The employee said: “This is horrendous for the family. Clive is utterly devastated and no one can believe what has happened. “We’re aware of the tragedy and it is terrible, just absolutely shocking.” It is understood Mr Reed lives in North Yorkshire but his family also have property in exclusive Monaco. A neighbour told the Sun it was the second tragedy to hit the family after Miss Reed’s mum Mary died from a brain aneurysm about four or five years ago. The neighbour said: “It’s absolutely dreadful. Anna was such a lovely girl, so beautiful.”
A neighbour said Mrs Reed had been to visit her daughter in her new flat when she fell and hit her head, leading to a fatal aneurysm. A former neighbour of Mr Reed said: “Anna used to babysit our kids and she was lovely, so lively and full of fun. “She was very horsey, I remember as a child she would set up little jumps in the garden for their dog to jump over. “Her mum was a maths teacher and died when she was visiting Anna around the corner and fell hitting her head on some stone steps.” Miss Reed is the granddaughter of millionaire horsing magnate Guy Reed, who died in Monaco in 2013 aged 91. He also formed the Reed Bordall haulage giants. Miss Reed, who wrote on social media under the handle ‘Berlin Baby’, had been visiting various countries in recent months. She posted several photographs of herself on an holiday to the Mediterranean in March, then in Singapore the following month.
It is believed she was may have been enjoying a round-the world trip which she received as a 21st birthday present from her dad. The same gift he gave his eldest daughter Millie a similar present three years ago. A source told Blick that Marc had worked as a bouncer, and they were surprised he could afford his travels. Swiss prosecutor Petra Canonica Alexakis said investigators are considering a charge of murder or culpable homicide against Marc. Swiss police said in a statement: “A 29-year-old German man has been arrested and a file has been sent to the local prosecutor with an allegation of pre-intentional homicide.” “He is being held at the Farera judicial prison in Lugano Cadro district.” A spokesperson for the Foreign Office told Mirror Online: “Our consular staff are assisting the family of a British woman following her death in Switzerland and are in contact with the Swiss and UK police.”