A French chef has died under mysterious circumstances after making a fanatic phone call to his wife and investing $200,000 toward their dream life in New York City. François-Tanguy Olivon, 34, was found dead after security cameras captured him falling from a bridge in Bayonne, France.
He and his wife, Manon, had planned to relocate to New York City with their children, having invested a large sum of money to launch their restaurant chain, Chez Fanfan, in SoHo. However, during a vacation in southern France, Olivon vanished under mysterious circumstances after making a desperate call to his wife at 1 a.m. on February 22, only to be found dead.
Mystery Shrouds Death
"He was shouting at me for help, to come and get him right away," Manon said, according to Sud Ouest, a French media outlet. Manon shared on Facebook that Olivon, who appeared drunk and alone, told her he was in danger and had been attacked by multiple people.
However, she never heard from him again. That night, a passerby saw him wearing a tattered t-shirt before he vanished.
Surveillance footage later captured him falling from the bridge, and his body was recovered from the Adour River 12 days later.
Their expected dream life in New York City came to a heartbreaking end with Olivon's death. Manon told the New York Post that they had put down a $166,000 deposit along with $47,500 to cover rent for January and February.
"Everything was ready - the location, the preparations - but not, this dream will never come true," she wrote on her GoFundMe page, which she launched to support her children.
Now alone with her two young kids, Manon felt their dream had become "simply impossible."
Dream Life Ends Before Beginning
On March 1, she sent a letter to the landlord informing him of her husband's death. She reached out to Robert Moskowitz, the owner of Only Properties LLC in New York, requesting at least a partial refund of the money they had paid.
"Today, I am not writing to a landlord - I am writing to a man. A man who, I hope can look beyond clauses and figures and understand that sometimes, life puts us through unimaginable trials that we cannot face alone," she wrote.
"If you cannot return the full amount, then I beg you to at least return one month's rent. It would be an immense help to me and my children."
Not only were her requests refused, but Manon was also threatened that she could be held responsible for the full 10-year lease, amounting to $3 million, unless she agreed to sign a "surrender agreement."
"Refusing to sign the surrender agreement will not result in a return of your security deposit, but it will result in you being held fully responsible for all of the obligations set forth in the parties' lease agreement," Only Properties attorney Nicole Waknine wrote to Manon, the Post reported.
Manon signed the surrender agreement, but their "entire life savings" had already been invested in their dream of building a life in New York City.
