One of the saddest stories I ever heard about a lawyer in love was that of New Zealander Gary Alderdice - known as ‘Never Plead Guilty Gary’. After the collapse of his marriage in the 1990s, the Hong Kong-based Alderdice started making trips on the hydrofoil to neighbouring Macau (pictured). Gambling there had been invaded by the Russian mafia, in association with the local triad organisations, and a whole army of prostitutes (mainly from the Vladivostok area) was working the hotel circuit.

Among them was the exceptionally attractive strawberry blond Natalya Samofalova. Her contract had been signed in Macau and, as protection for themselves, the local triads had very sensibly retained her work papers. For Alderdice, it was a question of love at first sight and his feelings do seem to have been reciprocated. He took up with Samofalova in early April 1994 and the pair stayed first in his hotel room and then in a cottage at the Westin Resort until early May. Then came Alderdice’s fatal mistake: he declined to pay her owners for her services. When her papers came up for renewal, the triads refused to return them to her and she was obliged to leave.

On 23 June Alderdice flew to Vladivostok, where he was met by Samofalova at the airport. He had, it was said, taken with him about $150,000. The next day Samofalova’s mother called at her flat and found both Alderdice and her daughter dead. It was thought that Alderdice had taken the money to buy his girlfriend’s contract but the pair had been killed to demonstrate the power of the mafia, who had left the money untouched.

Five years after the killings came a confession from a woman the police would initially identify only as Olga, who had worked with Samofalova. She claimed she and two other men had been persuaded to rob the pair. Alderdice had been shot and Samofalova tied to a chair and tortured to make her reveal the whereabouts of the money, but only $2,000 was found.

Unfortunately for the police, Olga succumbed to a drug overdose just four days later. One of the men subsequently denied the story. The other man, whom she said had actually shot the pair, is thought to have died in a gangland killing back in 1995. It is just one of those stories where the suspects are conveniently dead or untouchable.

James Morton is a writer and former criminal defence solicitor