A Criminal Christmas Discussion Dinner – Matthew Steeples on Menendez, McCann and Maxwell, 8th December 2024
Matthew Steeples
In a revision to our Christmas discussion dinner event on Sunday 8th December, Matthew Steeples will now delve into developments in the Menendez brothers, Madeleine McCann and Ghislaine Maxwell cases with freelance writer and former BBC publicist Claire Rubinstein
Hosted in a similar fashion to the Peter Bleksley ‘Lawmakers & Lawbreakers’ discussion dinner we held back in November, the evening’s focus will be on the three true crime stories that Steeples has spent years investigating – that of the conviction of the mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, ‘missing’ Madeleine McCann and the wrongly maligned for many years Menendez brothers.
Rubinstein – who is renowned for her attention to detail and tenacity – will quiz Steeples and the complexities of each case, why each has captivated the minds of the public and what is expected to come next in each story in 2025. Guests will have the opportunity to ask questions both during the dedicated discussion segment and dinner itself.
Tickets to the evening are priced at £99 and include a delicious 3 course Christmas dinner and a glass of Prosecco on arrival and half a bottle of red or white wine per person with the meal. To book, at this late stage, please contact editorial@thesteepletimes.com to receive the relevant sort code and account number to pay via bank transfer.
The event starts at 6.30pm prompt and we look forward to welcoming friends and readers old and new to what will be yet another riveting evening where curious questions about three of true crime’s biggest stories – Menendez, McCann and Maxwell – will be examined in detail.
Following on from our ‘Lawbreakers & Lawmakers’ discussion dinner on 6th November at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie where renowned policing and crime expert and Talk TV Crime Suspect and Channel 4 Manhunt ‘Chief’ Peter Bleksley spoke of the toxicity that has enveloped policing and explored the public’s enthusiasm for the true crime genre, our second event turns the tables on three very well-known cases. On 8th December, freelance writer and former BBC publicist Claire Rubinstein will quiz Matthew Steeples about his knowledge and connections with the story of the conviction of the mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, ‘missing’ Madeleine McCann and the wrongly maligned for many years Menendez brothers.In 2024, two series – Peacock’s ‘Myenendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed’ and Netflix’s ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ – have reinvigorated interest in the story of two brothers who Matthew Steeples has long argued should have been convicted of manslaughter and not murder. Erik and Lyle Menendez were victims of the sickest forms of parental abuse and as we move in 2025, it looks like that they could finally be resentenced. Steeples remarks: “These brothers have more than served their time and the legal system, after significant pressure from the TikTok generation who seized upon this case during the coronavirus lockdowns amongst other factors, has finally acknowledged that in recent weeks.”In November, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was told that yet another of her attempts at an appeal had failed. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has continued to demand the naming of the names of the associates of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and with Donald Trump again returning to the presidency in January 2025, the story of the mucky madam is unlikely to fade into obscurity.
In the orbit of the story of Madeleine McCann, outrage at the continuing funding of Operation Grange – on which some £13.5 million of public funds have since 2007 been wasted already – has continued to bubble, whilst no credible evidence against ‘suspect’ Christian Brueckner has still surfaced. Shouldn’t the investigation into the ‘disappearance’ of a child who’ll likely never be found not cease as we move into the New Year?The other key ‘players’ in the sordid stories of Maxwell, Menendez and McCann (left to right) – the late Jeffrey Epstein, the late Robert Maxwell and Donald Trump; the late Jose and Kitty Menendez and Gerry and Kate McCann. What will become of those living and the ‘legacies’ of those deceased in 2025? Steeples argues: “It is now time for the truth about of all of these individuals and their roles in these stories to be finally shared.”
A YouTube video of Matthew Steeples chatting with Peter Bleksley and guests at the first ‘The Steeples’ ‘Discussion Dinner’ on 6th November 2024 at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie in Fulham Road, London, SW3 was a huge success. We look forward to welcoming those who attended and those that didn’t on the 8th December to witness Matthew Steeples being interviewed about the latest developments in the cases of the Menendez brothers, Madeleine McCann and Ghislaine Maxwell.
