An innocent British socialite who was put on death row for a double murder 'carried out by Pablo Escobar's hitmen' has died in jail aged 85, his lawyer has confirmed.
Kris Maharaj was 'framed' for the murder of two business associates at a Miami hotel room back in 1986 and served 38 years in prison despite being declared innocent by a federal judge five years ago.
His lawyer Clive Stafford Smith said on X on Tuesday that Kris had passed away in the hospital after nearly four decades of 'fighting injustice'.
Before his arrest, the Brit - who was born in Trinidad - was a multi-millionaire who owned four Rolls-Royces at his home in Peckham, south London, and was an enthusiastic owner of thoroughbred racehorses. In fact, his horses once raced against the Queen's and won.
British socialite Kris Maharaj has died aged 85 after spending 38 years in jail for a crime he did not commit
The Queen pictured patting her classic filly 'highclere' after a race at Ascot in July 1974. Kris was also a fan of horse-racing, and his horse once raced against the Queen's in the Queen Alexandra stakes at Ascot
But his life came crashing down when was arrested at a Miami restaurant while eating dinner with his wife Marita in 1986.
He was convicted of the murders of father and son Derrick Moo Young, 53 - a former business associate Kris had fallen out with - and Duane, 23, the following year after a court heard that Kris's fingerprints were found at the scene in the Dupont Plaza Hotel.
Kris maintained his innocence throughout, saying that he had been lured into Room 1215 - where the bodies were found - earlier in the day for a meeting but left after nobody showed up.
He was sentenced to death despite none of his six alibis being called to testify at trial and the court not being informed a key prosecution witness who claimed to have witnessed Maharaj shoot the associates failed a lie detector test.
What followed was a 38-year legal battle which has many a time been likened to something from Netflix series Narcos.
In 2002, his lawyer Stafford Smith was able to get the death sentence overturned and commuted to life, with the help of human rights non-profit Reprieve.
But the 85-year-old remained in jail until his last breath, despite Pablo Escobar's notorious Medellin drug cartel admitting they were responsible.
It is understood documents suppressed by prosecutors later revealed the murder victims were money launderers for Escobar's cartel who were killed after they stole from the drug kingpin.
In fact, in 2014 the drug lord's chief assasin Jhon Jairo Velasquez Vasquez sensationally stated Kris had been framed for the murder that was actually the work of Escobar's hitmen.
Kris with his wife Marita Maharaj in London in the 1980's
Kris's legal team had renewed hopes in 2019 when federal magistrate judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes declared he had proven his innocence and stated that 'no reasonable juror could convict him'.
But unfortunately the US Court of Appeals ruled this was not enough to overturn the conviction, with the Supreme Court also rejecting his bid for review last year.
His wife had vowed not to return home to the UK until he was free but was forced to earlier this year due to poor health.
Of his death, Stafford Smith also wrote on X today: 'Kris Maharaj will come home - as that's his and Marita's wish, so we will have a funeral in Bridport in due course.'
He added: 'It is very sad: 13808 days of suffering over with his death at 1pm ET yesterday. We are going to have to bring Kris Maharaj's body back for burial in Dorset - working on that now.
'I hope there will be a good turn out celebrating his life and loyal wife Marita.'
Human rights lawyer Stafford Smith fought to Kris's last days to free him.
Just last month, he tweeted on X asking for a fingerprint expert to help in tracking down whether unknown prints in Kris's case could be linked to one of the killers in the Muriel McKay case.
Kris pictured leaving court in Miami for the first time in 11 years for his death penalty to be lifted
According to The Mirror, the lawyer is looking into whether Kris was stitched up by a friend, Adam Hosein, who ran front companies for Escobar, and who was also questioned by UK police in 1969 over Muriel's murder.
Hosein had fled the country soon after he was questioned, but his two brothers were jailed for life for the kidnap and murder of Muriel.
Hotel records for the Du Pont Plaza in Miami allegedly revealed a message was left for Hosein at room 1215 - the same room the Moo Youngs were found dead in.
In an interview for Sky News four years ago, Kris had said: 'When they found me guilty, I passed out, I fainted. I just couldn't believe you could be found guilty [of] something you didn't do - murder.
'It is very difficult to wake up every morning and think, 'What on God's earth am I doing here? These people know I am innocent.'
