The Mysterious Murder of Georgi Markov: The Poisoned Umbrella Conspiracy
Mystery still surrounds the murder of a commuter who died when he was poked by the tip of a poisoned umbrella. Bulgarian defector Georgi Ivanov Markov died in 1978 of blood poisoning in hospital after claiming a stranger jabbed him while he was crossing Waterloo Bridge in central London.
The Tragic Death of Georgi Markov
The dissident fled Bulgaria in 1969, settling in Clapham in the city’s south and working for the BBC as a playwright. In London, he was a vocal critic of his home country’s communist regime. On September 7, 1978, Markov was waiting for a bus on the south side of Waterloo Bridge on his way to work at BBC’s Bush House, the old home of the broadcaster’s world service. He felt a sharp pain in his right thigh, and turned around to spot a stranger picking up an umbrella off the pavement. Markov said the man apologized in a foreign accent before taking off in a taxi.
The Poisoning and Investigation
The rebel Bulgarian went to work as normal but later fell ill, and by the next day, he was bedridden at St James’ Hospital in Balham. Doctors surveyed the small puncture wound in his thigh and told Markov his blood had been poisoned. He died in the hospital aged 49, three days following the umbrella ambush. News reports from the time said it led Scotland Yard into “one of the most extraordinary investigations in its history.” An autopsy discovered a small 1.7mm pellet in Markov’s thigh with tiny holes on either side of it where poison could have been stored.
The Suspects and Allegations
It’s believed that the poison was ricin, a deadly substance extracted from the waste of castor beans being made to oil. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the West learned that Russian spy unit KGB had developed the menacing umbrellas. Markov was survived by wife Annabel Dilke, who was left raising their daughter on her own. While no one has ever been brought to justice over the James Bond-style Cold War poisoning, there were strong suspicions centered on one alleged Communist agent.
The Alleged Mastermind – Agent Piccadilly
That was Italian man Francesco Gullino, also known by the code name “Piccadilly.” Bulgarian journalist Hristo Hristov wrote that Gullino had been arrested twice in Bulgaria for drug smuggling and was given an ultimatum – be sent to the clink or become a secret agent in the West. According to Hristov’s book, titled “The Double Life of Agent Piccadilly,” Gullino set up base in Copenhagen as an “art dealer.” It’s believed the Italian kept his art broker-secret agent double life going until 1990 and received a Bulgarian state medal “for services to security and public order.”
Investigations and Revelations
Gullino was captured and questioned by British and Danish authorities in Copenhagen in 1993, and while it’s reported that he admitted to being in London at the time of Markov’s murder, he denied involvement. A Danish Broadcasting Corporation documentary released in March 2023 cast the spotlight back onto the mystery. The documentary depicted a renewed probe into Gullino’s alleged secret activities, with filmmakers tracking him down in Austria in June 2021. He was interviewed and again denied the accusations leveled against him. Gullino was found dead in his apartment in the Austrian town of Wels shortly after the interview. Scotland Yard confirmed to Central Recorder that as of June 2024, there remained no investigative updates. The case continues to be marred by mystery.