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In this era of wall-to-wall Netflix dramas and true crime documentaries, very little seems to be beyond the realms of script-writing possibilities.
But the real-life story of a former Aston Villa star and England Under-21 international dying in a massive fireball after crashing his £100,000 Range Rover into a van as he headed home after dropping his children off at school had viewers’ jaws on the floor.
Jlloyd Samuel played 420 matches, including 240 in the Premier League, in a glittering career where he kept some of the country’s best wingers in his pocket from his position at left-back.
His death in 2018, aged 37, sent shockwaves around the footballing world with fans paying tribute to the ex-Bolton defender and sending messages of support to his wife Emma Pritchard and children Javarne, Lakyle, and Amara. It quickly emerged, however, that that was not all Samuel had left behind. The Trinidad and Tobago-born star had been allegedly leading a double life with another wife in Iran for five years.
And that’s not the half of it – he might not actually be dead. In a plot twist beyond even the capabilities of Netflix’s sharpest creatives, two of his closest family members – sister Leslie-Ann and second spouse Helia Sahimi Lloyd – both maintain that the former footballer is still alive.
Mail Sport delves into the mind-boggling story of Samuel’s secret life as his family fight to prove to the world that he is still with us.
Jlloyd Samuel (pictured, with former wife Emma Pritchard) allegedly lived a secret life
His £100,000 Range Rover collided with a van as he returned from taking his kids to school
Samuel starred for Aston Villa and Bolton in the Premier League in the 2000s but died aged 37
Born in San Fernando in 1981, Samuel was raised in Bow, East London and was in the same starting XI as John Terry and Jermain Defoe for youth side Senrab.
After a quick spell at West Ham’s youth side, he found himself at Aston Villa where he stayed for a decade, playing 199 matches and providing a solid presence in defence, while turning out for England’s U21s on seven occasions.
He transferred to Bolton in 2007, a year after the birth of his first child, and was Sammy Lee’s first signing as the new boss, playing consistently for The Trotters before leaving in 2011.
Samuel headed off to play for Esteghlal, the oldest side in Iran, where he met future wife Sahimi against the knowledge of his spouse Pritchard.
After short spells at Tehran-based team Esteghlal and Cheshire outfit Egerton, the defender’s career was tragically cut short by the shocking car crash in May 2018 which caused his death.
But it was only after the accident that the sensational details of Samuel’s parallel life came to light.
In a documentary, produced by ITV in 2022 and released on Netflix this year, his wife Pritchard reveals how she discovered that she was not only woman in the football star’s world.
Samuel is alleged to have married Helia Sahimi Lloyd (right) in 2013 and converted to Islam
Helia (pictured, left, with Samuel) also shows a photograph of their marriage certificate
Sahimi described their secret relationship as ‘like being in a dream’ in the documentary
‘I was trying to grieve my husband and find he has another life. Who is my husband – do I really know him?’ she said.
Pritchard had even met the other woman on a trip to Dubai, but she had introduced herself as a fortune teller.
The mother of Samuel’s three kids, Pritchard was said to be in shock after learning of their relationship, which lasted up until his death.
‘About four weeks after Jlloyd’s death, my friend said I’ve got something to tell you,’ she said.
‘Jlloyd’s got another wife, another woman, and she’s just plastered herself all over his Instagram as his wife. I threw up everywhere. I said let me see the Instagram and I looked and said “oh my god”.’
Iranian fashion designer and singer Helia introduces herself in the documentary as ‘the wife of Jlloyd Samuel’ describing their relationship as ‘like being in a dream’.
She said: ‘He was extremely romantic and even tried to learn Farsi so that we could speak to each other. I will always love him.’
Describing their engagement, she added: ‘We had a private family party, he bought me a ring. He got on one knee and proposed to me. I didn’t even let him finish his words.’
Emma Pritchard (left) said she did not know about the existence of Sahimi until after the crash
Emma Pritchard (right) speaks in the documentary about finding out about his other wife
The couple had three children, Javarne, Lakyle, and Amara. Samuel died in 2018
Helia revealed that Samuel converted to Islam so that they could marry in 2013 and the programme also shows a photograph of their marriage certificate.
Pritchard went on to admit she was ‘obsessed’ with the Instagram account of her husband’s secret wife, and described finding out about their relationship as a ‘stab in the heart’.
‘There were even shots of Jlloyd that he’d sent to me on trips to Africa, with crocodiles and then I’d see another picture on Helia’s of her with Jloyd in Africa with the crocodiles.
‘It was like a stab in the heart. I’m trying to grieve for my husband and then I find out he’s got a full-on other life for seven years. Never ever has he asked me for a divorce.’
‘As far as I was concerned we were fine, we were great. The night before he passed away he was swinging me around the kitchen telling me how much he loved me.’
But things were not as they seemed and Sahimi even once called Samuel ‘the best husband I could have ever asked for’.
Samuel’s two lovers can both agree on their love for the former England youth star but that is about the only thing they see eye to eye on, with the pair even disputing if he is still alive or not.
Both Sahimi and Samuel’s sister Leslie-Ann think the ex-footballer is out there somewhere and MailOnline recently unearthed a cache of social media posts from his sibling expressing these views.
Sister Leslie Ann said Pritchard has not given permission for police to release his DNA sample
Leslie Ann (left) has previously falsely alleged that the accident was staged by Pritchard
She mounted a vociferous and sustained campaign online to prove her extraordinary belief that Samuel was not in the car at the time of the collision, is still alive and that reports of his death are a ‘cover up’.
She has also falsely alleged that the accident was staged by Pritchard so she could financially benefit from it.
Samuel’s body was so badly burned in the fireball that he was only identified through medical records and a DNA sample, a coroner’s court heard.
Leslie-Ann and Samuel’s family have been demanding that they be allowed to independently test the sample and protested that they have also not been given key documents and images related to his death.
In one post, accompanied by a picture of Samuel with an arrow pointing to his mouth, she writes: ‘Every attempt is made to cover up the truth but the evidence WILL prove the truth. Where is Jlloyd?’
In another she claims: ‘The people involved in this stage death have stated they want the equity from Jlloyds estate, they also spoke of the big money coming & about money OWED.
‘We have evidence that Jlloyd was not in the car when it blew!!! up.’
Participating in the documentary, Pritchard and Sahimi provided vastly contrasting details about the accident.
MailOnline unearthed social media posts from his sister Leslie Ann claiming he is still alive
While Emma maintains that he was killed in it, his second wife insists: ‘I believe that my husband is still alive. I will fight for him until the end of my life because I believe that the truth will come out.’
But it is the former Aston Villa star’s sister who has been most outspoken.
In one post she claims that Emma has not given permission for the police to release his DNA sample and dental records.
She writes: ‘WHERE IS JLLOYD SAMUEL! JLLOYD WAS THREATENED. JLLOYD WAS NOT IN THE RANGE ROVER WHEN IT BLEW.’
The feud between Emma and Samuel’s family came to a head at Samuel’s inquest in 2019 when the family applied for permission to have his DNA sample tested independently, as they did not believe it belonged to the former footballer.
But Emma, who had the final say as Samuel’s next of kin, insisted that she would only agree to it if Leslie-Ann could guarantee it was taken to a UK-registered laboratory.
Coroner Alan Moore also dismissed the family’s request after explaining that a forensic specialist had already compared teeth from the body with Mr Samuel’s dental records and confirmed it was a match.
Angry at the decision, Leslie-Ann posted: ‘Jlloyd we WILL see you soon, in this life.’
After leaving Villa in 2007, Samuel (pictured, with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008) went to Bolton
Tributes were left to Samuel at Aston Villa’s stadium following his tragic death in 2018
Following the player’s death, a minute’s applause was held at Villa Park for their former player
In another post she wrote: ‘Jlloyd brother we know you are ALIVE and well and we know the DNA the pathologist have is not your DNA … 100%… Lies…’
In one post she claimed: ‘Insurance claims along with other criminal acts has since been committed resulting from this wicked act of staging a death of a loved one.’
After the inquest hearing, Leslie-Ann vowed that she would obtain a court order to get Samuel’s DNA sample tested independently.
But the documentary revealed that to this day she has still not done this, and that Emma is still willing for independent testing to take place provided it is done in the UK.
In a further twist to the mystery surrounding his death, Sahimi claimed that on the day of the accident Samuel was due to fly to Morocco to meet her and that they had planned to start a new life together in Guinea-Bissau, west Africa, where he was going to open a business dealing in diamonds.
Helia said: ‘He had lots of plans to start a new life. He wanted to export diamonds and gold and open a football academy. I was going to open an Iranian restaurant.’
Samuel might have died more than six years ago but the details of his fate are still bitterly disputed by the two warring women who were in his life.
