Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘The Goldfinger Mystery’ of ‘Dateline NBC,’ we get a detailed account of the gruesome murder of Pamela Fayed in a public parking garage in 2008. It delves into the controversy that surrounded the gold business of Pamela and her husband, James Fayed, and how the couple’s marriage deteriorated, so much so that it led to the death of the former. The episode also gives us a glimpse into the investigation that followed the crime and how it led them to charge James with the murder. I
Who is James Fayed?
Born in the early 1960s, James Fayed met Pamela, who was already a mother to Desiree Goudie, in the late 1990s, soon after which the two started going out. In 1999, the couple welcomed their first daughter into the world and named her Jeanett. After a few months, in the same year, they took the next big step in their relationship and got married. Having worked as an electrical contractor, James collaborated with his wife to start a business in Camarillo, California, and called it Goldfinger Coin & Bullion, simply known as Goldfinger. Besides that, the couple also handled an associated company, E-Bullion, which had its offices in California despite it being incorporated in the country of Panama.
As their company grew with time and turned into a profit-making empire, the Fayeds bought two properties, one in Camarillo and another one in Moorpark, which they named “Happy Camp Ranch.” All was going well for the married couple until it wasn’t. According to James, Pamela was involved in the embezzlement of around $800,000 from Goldfinger, after which he not only banned her from the firm’s offices and fired her first daughter, Desiree, he even filed for divorce in October 2007.
A few months later, things got even more complicated for James and the business as he was charged with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business through Goldfinger. With so much happening at that moment, including the divorce proceedings and the allegations surrounding the couple’s business, it got the best of him. In 2008, while the Fayeds’ revenue was reportedly about $160 million, their net worth was around $12 million. After the divorce, Pamela would gain $1 million, which was one of the things that didn’t sit well with James.
Soon after initiating the divorce proceedings, James hired one of the couple’s employees, Jose “Joey” Moya, for $25, 000 to kill Pamela. Moya, in turn, took the help of Gabriel Jay Marquez, the boyfriend of his niece, and Steven Simmons, Marquez’s nephew. According to sources, James had developed hatred in his heart for his wife, which led him to take these extreme measures. The hired killers reportedly had several chances to do the deed, which James himself orchestrated in remote places with no cameras, including at a party in Malibu, but they failed to make the most of it due to their incompetence.
Instead, Pamela got attacked and murdered in broad daylight at a public parking garage, with onlookers taking notice of the crime and the killers’ car being captured on camera as they fled the scene. The car’s license plate led the authorities back to James as it was rented by his company. On August 1, 2008, several days after the horrific crime, federal agents arrested James Fayed for being involved in the murder of his wife, Pamela Fayed.
James Fayed is on Death Row
Several years after James’ arrest, guilt phase deliberations commenced in May 2011. It just took the jury two days to find him guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The defense attempted to have his murder conviction overturned by putting forward various arguments, including the violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel, as a secretly recorded conversation he had in jail on different charges should not hold any weight as evidence for this charge.
However, the court considered the argument only to refuse it, saying that the right to counsel is only applicable after a defendant is charged. He was sentenced to death for playing a central role in his wife’s murder. Still, the defense appealed the verdict by alleging that prosecutorial misconduct occurred by the improper appeal to the passion and prejudice of the jury. These were also refused by the court. At the moment, he is imprisoned on death row at San Quentin State Prison on Main Street in California’s San Quentin.
Read More: Pamela Fayed Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
