302:
Stopford was identified when his family recognized him from a photograph in a news story and contacted
British authorities. His identity was confirmed by a fingerprint check. He was deported from the United Kingdom and returned to Florida in July 2006. Stopford reunited with his family but claimed
281:
Whilst attempting to enter
England from France in January 2005, Stopford was arrested when a passport check found that his personal information matched with that of a deceased infant. Stopford refused to reveal his true identity and nationality, leading to tabloid speculation he could have been a
207:
Stopford left the United States following a conviction for possessing explosives. He was initially sentenced to probation but was jailed for 60 days for a probation violation. He fled the country in 1983 after being released from jail.
216:
In 1983 Stopford assumed the identity of
Christopher Edward Buckingham, an infant who died eight months after birth. Using information obtained from London's archive of births, deaths and marriages, Stopford was able to procure a
286:
spy. In an effort to determine
Stopford's nationality, a recording of his police interview was sent to several forensic speech experts who analyzed his speech patterns and concluded he was likely American. He was convicted of
689:
959:
752:
189:, to Charles and Barbara Stopford. He is of English ancestry. Family members described him as being fascinated with British culture and adept at mimicking an English accent.
171:
and lived under the assumed name of
Christopher Buckingham for over twenty years. The press dubbed him ‘the real Jackal’ due to his use of a method described in the novel
844:
Watt, Dominic (2018). "Applied
Dialectology: Dialect Coaching, Dialect Reduction, and Forensic Phonetics". In Boberg, Charles; Nerbonne, John; Watt, Dominic (eds.).
516:
1010:
934:
413:
721:
903:
656:
1116:
699:
244:. Beginning in 1997, he adopted the title 'Earl of Buckingham', a peerage that has been extinct since 1687, and claimed to have a seat in the
390:
1101:
1091:
967:
762:
585:
1096:
618:
873:
554:
1041:
814:
784:
526:
1121:
853:
446:
1018:
364:
1126:
944:
421:
729:
201:
911:
666:
482:
1086:
788:
270:. He was working as an information technology security consultant in Switzerland at the time of his arrest.
398:
218:
877:
595:
558:
1106:
628:
1081:
881:
562:
296:
822:
1048:
333:
295:. His sentence was reduced to 9 months on appeal and he was released into the custody of the
173:
224:
As
Buckingham, Stopford affected an upper-class British accent. He claimed to be the son of
1076:
237:
792:
8:
989:
1111:
456:
168:
263:
Registry Office. They had two children, Lindsey and Edward, before divorcing in 1997.
849:
368:
197:
273:
Stopford is also known to have used the names Hans Peter
Schmidt and Alexi Romanov.
963:
725:
292:
186:
36:
939:
694:
417:
331:. Stopford's daughter wrote an article about her father, which was published in
288:
245:
248:. He had stationery which bore the moniker 'Lord Buckingham' and a Buckingham
1070:
233:
266:
Stopford lived in both
England and Germany, where he rented an apartment in
1014:
623:
590:
451:
256:
249:
204:, where he would speak with an English accent while entertaining visitors.
490:
907:
586:"He lived as a bogus peer for 22 years. Now he's in jail. But who is he?"
283:
267:
241:
757:
661:
521:
324:
225:
818:
486:
394:
164:
316:
304:
260:
221:, a National Health Card and a passport under Buckingham's name.
193:
192:
After graduating high school in 1980, Stopford enlisted in the
1011:"Britain's weirdest tricksters in new TV series Bizarre Crime"
229:
185:
Charles
Stopford, the eldest of nine children, was born in
690:"Man with no name is jailed for taking identity from baby"
960:"Fake earl to be deported after tests show real identity"
753:"Fake earl to be deported after tests show real identity"
255:
He met Jody, a 19 year old Canadian student, while in
84:
Living under an assumed identity for over twenty years
150:22 months in prison, reduced to 9 months on appeal
1068:
517:"Fake earl fled US after bid to bomb boss's car"
303:not to remember his past due to having suffered
196:. Upon being discharged, he found employment at
654:
514:
259:in 1984. They married on December 7, 1984, at
872:Bashir, Martin; Wallace, Rob (10 July 2006).
871:
552:
252:which had last been held in the early 1700s.
177:to assume the identity of a deceased infant.
553:Bashir, Martin; Wallace, Rob (7 July 2006).
276:
681:
655:ONeill, Sean; Thompson, Paul (5 May 2006).
515:ONeill, Sean; Thompson, Paul (6 May 2006).
414:"He left for England - and never came back"
1039:
441:
439:
232:in 1982. He also claimed to have attended
650:
648:
646:
315:The Stopford case was the subject of the
211:
951:
687:
610:
577:
391:"Bogus British Earl Really from Florida"
362:
1117:People deported from the United Kingdom
957:
904:"'Lord Buckingham' is finally unmasked"
874:"Fake English lord's identity revealed"
867:
865:
722:"Town's bogus lord's identity revealed"
714:
583:
510:
508:
436:
307:as a result of a car accident in 2002.
1069:
932:
750:
744:
643:
480:
447:"US couple: mystery 'earl' is our son"
358:
356:
354:
352:
350:
1040:Buckingham, Lindsey (November 2006).
848:. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 226–227.
616:
548:
546:
544:
476:
474:
411:
926:
896:
862:
843:
619:"Bogus Earl is unmasked as American"
505:
405:
815:"ID fraudster 'should reveal past'"
807:
777:
688:Bennetto, Jason (9 November 2005).
584:Laville, Sandra (8 November 2005).
555:"Great American impostor tells all"
347:
13:
1102:American people of English descent
1092:American people convicted of fraud
958:Mariano, Willoughby (9 May 2006).
541:
471:
383:
14:
1138:
1097:American people imprisoned abroad
821:. 8 November 2005. Archived from
1017:. 8 January 2012. Archived from
657:"Riddle of the fake earl solved"
202:United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot
108:
1033:
1003:
982:
837:
367:. LOST Magazine. Archived from
163:(born May 1962) is an American
104:
33:May 1962 (age 61–62)
935:"British detain a nowhere man"
483:"British detain a nowhere man"
412:Fries, Jacob H. (9 May 2006).
363:Falconer, Bruce (March 2009).
291:and sentenced to 22 months in
1:
789:Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)
728:. 11 May 2006. Archived from
340:
228:who died in a plane crash in
180:
59:Christopher Edward Buckingham
1122:People from Orlando, Florida
910:. 8 May 2006. Archived from
846:The Handbook of Dialectology
791:. 9 May 2006. Archived from
455:. 5 May 2006. Archived from
397:. 6 May 2006. Archived from
130:Charles and Barbara Stopford
7:
933:Jordan, Mary (6 May 2006).
751:ONeill, Sean (8 May 2006).
481:Jordan, Mary (6 May 2006).
310:
240:, and to be the owner of a
161:Charles Albert Stopford III
30:Charles Albert Stopford III
10:
1143:
1127:United States Navy sailors
617:Lewis, Paul (8 May 2006).
277:Arrest and identification
219:National Insurance number
154:
146:
138:
134:
126:
118:
88:
80:
72:
52:
44:
25:
18:
1042:"My dad was an imposter"
323:and was featured in the
297:UK Immigration Service
212:Christopher Buckingham
76:IT security consultant
1049:Cosmopolitan Magazine
365:"Escape from America"
334:Cosmopolitan Magazine
282:fugitive or a former
174:The Day of the Jackal
1087:American expatriates
785:"Bogus Royal a Yank"
238:Cambridge University
107: 1984;
1051:. pp. 111–114
299:in February 2006.
169:Earl of Buckingham
62:Hans Peter Schmidt
855:978-1-118-82755-0
198:Walt Disney World
167:who posed as the
158:
157:
1134:
1061:
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1026:
1007:
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1000:
998:
996:
986:
980:
979:
977:
975:
966:. Archived from
964:Orlando Sentinel
955:
949:
948:
943:. Archived from
930:
924:
923:
921:
919:
900:
894:
893:
891:
889:
880:. Archived from
869:
860:
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835:
834:
832:
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811:
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802:
800:
781:
775:
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770:
761:. Archived from
748:
742:
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739:
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726:Watford Observer
718:
712:
711:
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707:
698:. Archived from
685:
679:
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665:. Archived from
652:
641:
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627:. Archived from
614:
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594:. Archived from
581:
575:
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570:
561:. Archived from
550:
539:
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536:
534:
525:. Archived from
512:
503:
502:
500:
498:
489:. Archived from
478:
469:
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466:
464:
443:
434:
433:
431:
429:
420:. Archived from
409:
403:
402:
387:
381:
380:
378:
376:
360:
293:HM Prison Elmley
187:Orlando, Florida
112:
110:
106:
53:Other names
20:Charles Stopford
16:
15:
1142:
1141:
1137:
1136:
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1133:
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940:Washington Post
931:
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695:The Independent
686:
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672:
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418:Tampa Bay Times
410:
406:
389:
388:
384:
374:
372:
361:
348:
343:
321:The Real Jackal
313:
279:
214:
183:
139:Criminal charge
114:
111: 1997)
102:
98:
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40:
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32:
31:
21:
12:
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5:
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1130:
1129:
1124:
1119:
1114:
1109:
1107:Identity theft
1104:
1099:
1094:
1089:
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1063:
1062:
1032:
1002:
981:
950:
947:on 2013-02-09.
925:
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836:
806:
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609:
576:
540:
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435:
404:
401:on 2023-09-01.
382:
345:
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329:Bizarre Crimes
312:
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289:passport fraud
278:
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246:House of Lords
213:
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182:
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156:
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81:Known for
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1082:Living people
1080:
1078:
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1074:
1072:
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1036:
1021:on 2023-09-07
1020:
1016:
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990:"Fosse Films"
985:
970:on 2023-06-18
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914:on 2023-09-07
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884:on 2023-09-07
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825:on 2023-09-05
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795:on 2023-09-05
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765:on 2021-09-15
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747:
732:on 2023-09-05
731:
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723:
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702:on 2023-09-05
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691:
684:
669:on 2022-08-24
668:
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631:on 2023-09-04
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580:
565:on 2023-09-04
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549:
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529:on 2021-09-15
528:
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493:on 2023-09-01
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459:on 2023-09-01
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424:on 2023-09-01
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371:on 2023-09-01
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65:Alexi Romanov
64:
61:
58:
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55:
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47:
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38:
28:
24:
17:
1053:. Retrieved
1035:
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882:the original
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823:the original
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700:the original
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667:the original
660:
633:. Retrieved
629:the original
624:The Guardian
622:
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600:. Retrieved
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591:The Guardian
589:
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567:. Retrieved
563:the original
531:. Retrieved
527:the original
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495:. Retrieved
491:the original
461:. Retrieved
457:the original
452:The Guardian
450:
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422:the original
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369:the original
332:
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319:documentary
314:
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280:
272:
265:
257:West Germany
254:
250:coat of arms
223:
215:
206:
191:
184:
172:
160:
159:
1077:1962 births
908:Kent Online
736:28 November
463:14 December
428:25 February
284:East German
268:Hohentengen
242:manor house
45:Nationality
1071:Categories
1015:The Mirror
341:References
181:Early life
73:Occupation
1112:Impostors
1055:2 October
1025:2 October
995:2 October
918:2 October
888:2 October
799:2 October
769:2 October
758:The Times
673:2 October
662:The Times
635:2 October
602:8 October
569:2 October
533:2 October
522:The Times
497:2 October
375:2 October
325:BBC Three
226:diplomats
127:Parent(s)
39:, Florida
878:ABC News
819:BBC News
559:ABC News
487:NBC News
395:CBS News
311:In media
165:imposter
119:Children
48:American
974:18 June
706:18 June
327:series
317:Sky One
305:amnesia
261:Watford
200:in the
194:US Navy
147:Penalty
113:
101:
97:
37:Orlando
852:
829:18 May
89:Spouse
1045:(PDF)
230:Egypt
103:(
99:
1057:2022
1027:2022
997:2022
976:2023
920:2022
890:2022
850:ISBN
831:2023
801:2022
771:2022
738:2022
708:2023
675:2022
637:2022
604:2022
571:2022
535:2022
499:2022
465:2022
430:2023
377:2022
236:and
109:div.
94:Jody
26:Born
1073::
1047:.
1013:.
962:.
937:.
906:.
876:.
864:^
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755:.
724:.
692:.
659:.
645:^
621:.
588:.
557:.
543:^
519:.
507:^
485:.
473:^
449:.
438:^
416:.
393:.
349:^
337:.
105:m.
1059:.
1029:.
999:.
978:.
922:.
892:.
858:.
833:.
803:.
773:.
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710:.
677:.
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379:.
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