// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
The man who bought an island, hired hitmen and throttled a theatregoer
Malcolm Potier's dark past was unknown to the woman he strangled at the theatre
Theatre-lover Kirsty O'Donnell was a regular visitor to the West End to enjoy musicals and plays.
But her life took a dramatic and frightening turn during a performance of Queen musical We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum.
She was throttled by the stranger sitting next to her – a disgraced ex-millionaire who had twice tried to have his former partner murdered.
Malcolm Potier launched his violent attack on 51-year-old O'Donnell as she was singing along to Queen hits on 7 June 2023.
Potier, 75, from Sarratt in Hertfordshire, was found guilty of non-fatal strangulation at Southwark Crown Court in July and jailed for two years on Thursday.
The bizarre violent attack was the latest carried out by Potier, once a wealthy landowner who had outbid Sir Mick Jagger to buy a remote Scottish island.
O'Donnell was sitting in the dress circle at the London Coliseum when she was attacked
Among the crowd at the West End's biggest theatre on the night of the attack were Sir Rod Stewart, former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli and comedian Jimmy Carr.
It was the show's press night, and Potier was sitting next to his partner, theatre critic Lizzie Loveridge, in the dress circle.