The geeky, boring criminologist in me is taking over again on this one. Sorry! When this case was reported in The Sun in 2003, my then-lover (a musician) sent me the story as a warning...What a romantic guy he was!
It is one of those that has always stuck with me for various reasons but it is now pretty much reduced to a few lines and the odd newspaper article on a google search.
Today, however, I spent a good hour reading the judgement in the case and thought it was about time someone did a proper summary of it. Here goes!
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JUDITH PRIEST
Andrew Parker
Rocker 'wanted wedding dress'
JUDAS Priest rocker Ken Downing shocked his lover by announcing he wanted to put on a wedding dress, a court was told.
The veteran heavy metal guitarist made the bizarre demand after he spotted a bride in a restaurant.
His girlfriend Julie was dumbstruck and the pair later split. The story was told by the woman who took Julie's place -and is now suing Downing, 52, for a share of his fortune after he ditched her.
Sarah Lissimore, 35, said: "Ken told me he and Julie had stopped talking after he told her he'd like to try a bride's dress on. He said they were in a restaurant together and she went dead silent."
Sarah said she fell for Downing -KK to his fans -ten years ago.
She claimed she quit a promising career in pharmacy to live with him at his Pounds 2million Shropshire estate, Astbury Hall.
Sarah said he bought her an Argos engagement ring and asked her to wear it on her wedding finger.
When the affair collapsed, she demanded a cash settlement -but Downing offered her a tank of petrol for her car. She told Birmingham County Court: "He said he'd give me a tank of fuel and that was it. I was shocked."
Sarah said she had run the estate while Downing toured with Judas Priest, whose hit albums include Screaming For Vengeance.
She claimed she is entitled to part of his fortune for investing "time and skill" in Astbury instead of her own career -and is now skint.
Downing insisted the ring he gave Sarah was not an engagement band.
He said: "She knew before she came to Astbury I didn't want to marry."
Downing added: "Everything I do and every penny I have goes on the estate -it is my passion, my pension and my life."
He said the idea he'd share Astbury was "insulting". The case continues.
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Sarah Lissimore was 25 and estranged from her husband (though they were still living together) when she met 41 year old Kenneth "KK" Downing in a pub one night (in Autumn 1993) whilst she was out with a friend on one of those "We hate men" evenings that we all do... some of us more than others... She thought he was a farmer when she first started seeing him. Good for him.
They hit it off and she quickly moved into his house, Astbury Hall, a property Downing had bought in 1985, followed by surrounding farmland in 1991 with the intention of turning it into a golf course. She did not tell her parents for three months... Good start to the relationship there! She said she intended to buy a flat with her divorce settlement but he didn't like the area because it was rough and he didn't want his brand new Range Rover vandalised. Fair enough. Downing told Lissimore from the start that it would not be a conventional relationship; after-all, she was still legally married, though her divorce would be final in July 1994. While Judas Priest was basically on hiatus after Rob's departure, he must have known he would return to being a touring musician at some point and he confirmed that theirs would be an open relationship.
KK had also had a series of relationships that did not end well - he lived with Carole until 1985 (she had supported him in the early days and when they broke up, he paid off their mortgage and gave her the house), then Kyme who worked as a jeweller to support herself and lived with him in Spain... she returned to the US to be an actress in the 1980s after having an affair with another musician and was killed in a car accident in the early 1990s, and finally Julie who worked as a flight attendant; their relationship ended after she said she wanted to get married and KK said he would like to wear the wedding dress...
There's a pattern emerging... These women in KK's life all worked and did not demand much of him (aside from the odd marriage proposal). In return, they got his attention and support when the relationships ended (he partially financed Kyme's return to California, buying her an apartment).
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For the sake of accuracy, Kyme Hoan Tran was born in Vietnam on 30th June 1960 and was living in Woodland Hills when she was killed on January 17th 1993. The original report from the LA Times -
1 Driver Dies, 2nd Critically Hurt
A traffic accident on a rain-slicked Studio City street Sunday left one woman dead and another critically injured, Los Angeles police said.
A car driven by a woman heading south on Laurel Canyon Boulevard near Fryman Road spun out at high speed and crashed head-on with an oncoming car about 4:30 p.m., Officer Dave Cueto said.
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She was 32. Kyme is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in the Hollywood Hills. Her obituary -
| Daily News of Los Angeles (CA) - January 22, 1993 |
| Deceased Name: Tran, Kyme H. |
| Tran, Kyme H., 32, of Woodland Hills, self-employed jewelry salesman. Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Monday in the Old North Church at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park and Mortuary, Hollywood Hills. Private burial. |
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Then there's this woman. Sarah Lissimore was a pharmacy assistant when she met him and continued to work at this job, firstly full-time and then part-time before giving up work altogether. She claimed he forced her to give up work as her being out of the house inconvenienced him. He claimed he told her she could give up work if she wanted to as she wouldn't stop complaining about how much she hated the job. He agreed to support her until her divorce settlement came through, though he did suggest she could take a job closer to the house or do a computer course to improve her skills. She claims she was offered a sales job for a pharmaceutical company (there is no evidence to confirm this, aside from the statement of a relative of hers). She never took another job.
KK did continue to support her through the years, paying her credit card bill, putting money in her bank account, plus - of course - he paid all expenses relating to the home. She chose to spend her divorce settlement on a new car (she claims he told her she had to buy it) plus other things rather than investing it. Her choice.
Over the years, Lissimore took care of the house (in that she would discuss things with the staff who would then report back to KK for the go-ahead or paint the odd door or plant the odd flower-bed) while he recorded and toured. It is interesting to note that he did a lot of the cooking...
Then things changed.
Lissimore wanted to get married and have children. When KK bought her a £400 ring from Argos for Christmas 1994, she told everyone they were engaged. He did not deny it publicly so as not to embarrass her but privately he made it clear there was to be no wedding. He had also made it clear from the start that he would never want children as he would have to undergo medical treatment prior to conception being able to occur. She claims he was emotionally abusive and when she had tried to leave, he had offered her a tank of petrol.
In December 2001, Lissimore decided she had had enough and secretly filed a legal claim for half-ownership of Astbury Hall and Downing's properties in Spain, demanding that they be sold immediately. Downing was on tour at the time. She was also still living in the house but did move to another wing.
KK was very hurt by this as it was his house and he never intended to share it with anyone; he had even consulted a lawyer when she moved in to ensure she would have no claims on his property and was given general advise about protecting himself.
Downing and his lawyer decided to fight it.
It reached court in 2003.
The case disintegrated very quickly, with her claims against the Spanish properties dropped first, followed by her claim for half of Astbury Hall (worth over £2 million) in favour of a cash settlement of £200,000 so she could buy her own house and cover expenses until she was working again.
Her whole claim revolved around the fact that when they first got together, he referred to her as the "Lady of the Manor", amongst other things. She claimed that he would talk down to her about how she should not trouble her "pretty little head" with financial issues and would always take care of her. He denied that and the judge sided with him. She also believed that the fact that he included her in his will gave her claims on his property. He also included his mother, brother and two sisters. Doesn't mean any of them actually own his house and can demand he sell it.
Funnily enough, throughout the relationship, Lissimore never once claimed any part-ownership of the properties and only decided to do so when she wanted to leave.
Now I ain't saying she a gold-digger...
During the case, Downing's lawyer lodged a request to stop Lissimore from publishing documents she had photocopied while KK was away on that final tour before she filed. The content of the documents was not made public but the judge did confirm that she had no need to copy these documents and therefore could not publish the content.
Then there were the tapes. After KK found out what she was trying to do, he confronted her in her wing of the house and was "verbally abusive" towards her. She claimed she then feared domestic abuse and started recording all conversations that took place in her rooms. The only thing revealed in these tapes was the suggestion that she was trying to get a media deal out of the break-up. Downing eventually removed the tape recorder from Lissimore's possession during a violent incident. The content of the tapes has never been released.
Finally, KK also wanted details of his personal life kept private and was concerned that she would be trying to do tell-all story on his life. KK did not say specifically what he wanted kept private but during proceedings did admit to being bi-sexual, that he had had an affair with a pre-op transsexual man, and that he had an interest in cross-dressing. This was all recorded in court records but nothing ever came of it.
As for the final judgement? Her entire case was proven to be unfounded and she was instructed to pay court costs, sources say running at close to £100,000.
Sarah Lissimore was declared bankrupt the following year.
Kenneth "KK" Downing got his golf course.
So what do we learn from this case?
No matter how rich he is, how serious you think the relationship is... never give up your independence. Whether he's a rock star or a bin man, you keep your own income, own bank account, own property. If he marries you, THEN you can relax. Until then, expect nothing because, more than likely, that's exactly what you'll end up with.
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