The father of the man who fell to his death on the King’s Road in mysterious circumstances has told The Citizen: “This is traumatic for me. I am devastated”.

Bill Cronin spoke of his shock and revealed that he “hasn’t the foggiest idea” what caused his son to fall from a second floor window to the pavement below.

The Citizen tracked down Mr Cronin as part of its investigation into the unexplained death on the King’s Road and into Karl Cronin’s extensive criminal past. 

The Citizen revealed last week that Karl Cronin had been the subject of an arrest warrant since an urgent Crimewatch appeal in 2008. He was wanted on suspicion of large-scale property fraud, much of it on landlords in the Chelsea and Kensington areas.

Karl Cronin – who had returned to Britain last November after serving a year in prison in America for money laundering – fell from a window in his rented flat opposite Bluebird restaurant at around 5am on 6th April – Easter Bank Holiday.

Exactly two weeks later, the Met Police is STILL refusing to confirm the dead man’s identity. They are also refusing to reveal how he was allowed to return to the UK without being arrested when he landed at Heathrow airport.

Mr Cronin Senior revealed: “He is dead, that is absolutely for sure. My daughter phoned from the UK and told me.” It is believed that police had informed Karl’s sister, Claire.

Mr Cronin Senior spoke exclusively to The Citizen after we contacted him by phone. He has been living as an ex-pat in a hot country for the past 24 years. The Citizen is keeping his location confidential.

When asked what happened to his son, Mr Cronin, a retired airline pilot, said: “I have no idea what went on. I am in the dark as much as you. I am going along and learning, getting information just the same as you. I can’t explain it to you, Rob.”

The Wanted Man Who Fell to Earth – how The Citizen revealed his identity

Mr Cronin revealed that he is struggling to understand what has happened: “I can’t explain it. It is at this (sic) times you starting thinking about when they were children and pushing the pram and so on. It’s devastating.

“I am going to find out everything very shortly. I am talking to the police regularly – or at least my daughter is – and we are going to find out everything very shortly.”

When asked what he suspected may have happened, he replied: “Honestly, I have no idea. I have not got the foggiest idea.”

Mr Cronin revealed that he had been estranged from his son for 12 years and he claimed to have no knowledge of his son’s criminal past. When asked, he said: “All of the information I am getting is totally alien to the Karl that I haven’t spoken to since 2014. I have no idea what went on. I am waiting for the police report.

“I can’t think of anybody who didn’t like and love Karl. He was a very sociable man. He was very pleasant – great company, and a wonderful personality. Wherever he went, he had lots and lots of friends. They gravitated towards him. He was just one of those people who could pull in friends very easily…I wish I had a third of the charisma he had.”

When asked again about Karl’s criminal activities, Mr Cronin said: “I have no idea that he has done any crime…” And when challenged on the subject of Crimewatch, he replied simply: “Well, I am not aware of that either.

“I have no idea. I have not spoken to him since 2014, but that was just one conversation. I haven’t spoken to Karl for so long, I can’t remember … I am just looking at photographs of him and I hardly recognise him because he has lost so much hair and so on.

“I have no idea of his background. I am quietly detached. I am retired and have been living in REDACTED for the past 24 years. I am out of the system, I’m out of the picture.”

Since the accident, further details have been revealed to The Citizen. Cronin had been living in flat No.19 in Argyll Mansions for around five weeks.

After passers-by – believed to be some golfers meeting for a day out – found Cronin “half naked” on the pavement, they called emergency services. He was given first aid by paramedics but died at the scene. His body remained in situ under a police forensics tent all day. Police at the scene said that they were waiting for a photographer.

Residents have since told The Citizen that a police helicopter was spotted hovering above the King’s Road and was pointing its searchlight over the scene as the body was carefully put into the back of a black private ambulance, with blacked out windows. It was finally taken away at around 9.30pm.

The Citizen has since been given access to Argyll Mansions where we found CCTV cameras covering the entrance and stairs, but we are told that these are not in working order. The door to No.19 has been double padlocked by police.

The Citizen has unearthed the clip of the crime TV show that featured the notorious property fraudster.

At the time, Cronin was wanted by police on suspicion of fleecing unsuspecting estate agents, landlords and private home owners out of millions of pounds. Many of his targets were from the Chelsea, Kensington and Fulham areas.

Following a week-long investigation, The Citizen named Cronin yesterday as the man who fell to his death from a second floor window opposite Bluebird at around 5am on Easter Monday. Earlier today, The Citizen out that Cronin had only been renting the flat there for five weeks.

Also today, the Met. Police has again refused to confirm if Cronin is the man who died. Its press office has chosen to not reply to a request lodged early this morning with a series of key questions concerning the incident.

This is a developing story. More follows soon…

“I’ve got some right turkeys here – so let’s see if we can ruin their Christmas. First up is Karl Cronin…”

The “mugshot” of Cronin that appeared in Crimewatch

News coverage following the Crimewatch alert for Cronin

The man who fell to his death on the King’s Road was a notorious fraudster who was WANTED by police, The Chelsea Citizen can reveal.

Following a week-long special investigation, The Citizen has been told by multiple sources that the man who died on Easter Monday morning was arch conman Karl Cronin.

An appeal to find Cronin was aired on Crimewatch in December 2008 after an arrest warrant had been issued against him by Met Police for “large-scale property fraud”. He had managed to evade British police ever since. 

Despite putting the name to Met. Police earlier this week, its press office refused to confirm the identity of the man to The Citizen. 

Cronin – thought to have been 63-years-old – fell from a window of a second floor flat to the pavement of the King’s Road at around 5am on Easter Monday. The flat is directly opposite Bluebird restaurant. At the time, investigating officers asked to see CCTV footage from Bluebird’s cameras.

Cronin’s father has been informed of his son’s death, but the body has not been released pending toxicology reports, so a funeral is yet to be planned.

 Exclusive Photos

Karl Cronin on the forecourt of Bluebird restaurant last December before having lunch with friends. ©RobMcGibbon/TheChelseaCitizen

Cronin had been on the run following allegations of his part in a £5m property fraud – mainly targeted against landlords and property owners in Chelsea and Fulham during the early 2000s. Sources have claimed to The Citizen that the fraud is thought to have been closer to £10m.

Cronin was named and implicated in a high profile trial that led to the imprisonment in 2017 of a model and her mother in a £1.2m property loan swindle in Kensington during 2014. Laylah de Cruz and her 61-year-old mother Dianne Moorcroft conned a 91-year-old heiress – who has since died – to raise cash against her home. It was claimed in court that de Cruz had been “dazzled” by Cronin in Dubai and that it was he who had masterminded the fraud. De Cruz and her mother were jailed for five and three years at Southwark Crown Court, but Cronin was on the run and evaded prosecution.

Cronin had been in prison in New York for a year after being convicted of money laundering. He had been extradited from Hungary by FBI agents. He was released in November 2025 and had returned to the UK, under supervision of US authorities. Remarkably, he was not arrested by UK police upon arrival at Heathrow airport. Confusion surrounds the circumstances that allowed Cronin to return to the UK and live freely. The Citizen is aware of certain theories and has detailed reports of the explanation Cronin gave to his friends, but we are withholding these allegations at this stage for legal reasons. He had been living in Chelsea since around December. Cronin’s friends have expressed shock at his death, but few are showing signs of sympathy. “He did a lot of bad things in his life and destroyed many, many lives,” said one person who knew him well. “He lived through lies and deceit and he had a ruthless streak. “All he cared about was money, dating young women, and having a good time. It did not matter who got hurt along the way. There have been a lot of people laughing that his life has ended this way. There’s the feeling that he got what he deserved.” Another friend was more sanguine: “He was a loveable rogue, almost like an Arthur Daley figure. He was always good company, the life and soul of a party and someone who was living life to the full. But he caused a lot of damage, there is no doubt about that.” Mystery and many unanswered questions now surround his death. Did he fall in an accident after partying too hard on drugs, did he jump, or was there foul play?

The Citizen was the only media outlet to visit the scene on Easter Monday. Police on guard there refused to give details, but one officer said that the incident was being treated as “an accident” and that the man had fallen from a second floor window. A narrow sash window that was partially open could be seen from the street, but there is no confirmation that this was the window where Cronin fell from.

“There is no way that Karl killed himself…”

The forensics tent that was erected to conceal Cronin’s body after the fall was in place all day on Easter Monday. Police said this was because they were awaiting a crime scene photographer. The only statement released so far by Met. Police came on 7th April. It stated: ‘At around 05:00hrs on Monday, 6 April, police attended King’s Road, Chelsea where a man was located with serious injuries after a fall from height. Officers called the London Ambulance Service and performed emergency first aid. Sadly, the man in his 50s was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. His next of kin have been informed. His death is being treated as unexpected and an investigation is ongoing.’

Multiple theories surrounding the circumstances of Cronin’s death are emerging, fuelled by rumours and suspicion. Some focus on his past crimes and others refer to his lifestyle, health and state of mind. One person who knew him well said: “There is no way Karl killed himself. None of the people who knew him believe that is what happened. One thing is for sure – he had a lot of enemies.” At this stage, The Citizen is not revealing full details of the wider speculation. What is clear, however, is that Cronin was a heavy cocaine user. During the weekend that he died, we have been told that he had been out with a male friend who was also a heavy drug user. One pal added: “Karl has changed in recent times and that was all down to the amount of coke he was doing. He had become paranoid and was in a bad way with his health.”

Cronin was an Englishman who grew up in the Weybridge area of Surrey. He became a well-known and flamboyant figure on the party scene of Chelsea and surrounding neighbourhoods throughout the 1990s and 2000s. It was during this period that he turned to property fraud to fund his high living. During the Crimewatch episode in 2008, Kirsty Young linked to the popular section known as ‘UK’s Most Wanted’. Co-presenter Rav Wilding then introduced the segment beginning with focusing on Suspect “No.1” – Cronin. He said:

The photo used on Crimewatch in 2008

“I’ve got some right turkeys here. Let’s see if we can ruin their Christmas. First up is Karl Cronin. He is wanted for large-scale property fraud in London and Surrey. He has got as many as 11 aliases including James Moore, Jonathan Carson and Andrew Tapper. No.2 is….”

@BBC

Widespread online news followed the Crimewatch report, but the police hunt for Cronin went cold. Through interviews with members of Cronin’s social circle and numerous social media posts, The Citizen has pieced together a detailed portrait of Cronin’s life on the run. He lived the high life in many of the world’s hot spots – including Dubai and Bali – and was open about his criminal past to many people he met along the way. He is always seen in social posts in super luxury cars – such as Rolls Royces, Ferraris, and Aston Martins – and is always with an array of attractive young women. But how did he manage to live so openly and extravagantly for so long without ever being extradited to Britain? The Citizen is preparing a full-length feature article about his life on the run. Coming soon…

Karl Cronin: The Life and Crimes of the Man who Fell to Earth.

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Police forensics tent – with an open window visible on the second floor

A window is seen open above the forensic tent. But is it THE window?