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Two dancers have avoided jail for blackmailing rugby star Danny Cipriani
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One had aborted Cipriani’s baby in the summer of 2015 after a casual relationship
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The court heard Cipriani and Murphy met through Facebook in early 2015
Two dancers have received suspended sentences for blackmailing former England rugby star Danny Cipriani for thousands of pounds after one of them aborted his child.
Lisa Murphy, 39, from Wootton, Northampton, and Violet Smith, 29, of Slough, Berkshire, were handed a 22-month sentence suspended for two years at Kingston Crown Court in south west London.
Of Cipriani, the judge added that the rugby player appeared to have gone back on his offer to pay money to Murphy, saying: “He does not appear to have fully appreciated the extent of your (Murphy’s) difficulties.”
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The pair, who worked together at a gentleman’s club called Junction 9, had admitted blackmailing Cipriani, 29, between September and October 2015 during a hearing at the same court on Monday.
Ms Murphy had aborted Cipriani’s baby in the summer of 2015 after a casual relationship with the rugby star and when she ran into health and financial difficulties in the months following, she asked the Wasps’ player for more money.
The two women began negotiations with Cipriani’s publicist for money while simultaneously trying to sell the story to The Sun.
Murphy believed her story was worth £12,000 and wanted Cipriani to pay out £15,000 to stay quiet.
Murphy and her friend Smith were eventually arrested on suspicion of blackmail when Cipriani’s agent went to police in November 2015.
They pleaded guilty yesterday before going on trial, as the judge offered them a suspended jail sentence.