Dave Courtney: Celebrity Gangster Died Penniless

Notorious gangster & Kray twins’ associate Dave Courtney, 64, who committed suicide in October 2023, did not leave a will and died poor, probate documents show his estate was valued at £0.

Gangster-turned-actor Dave Courtney, said to be the inspiration for Vinnie Jones ‘character Big Chris in flick Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, left no cash to his wife Jenny Pinto or his two daughters.

Dave Courtney, an associate of the Kray twins and street fighter Lenny McLean, took his own life using a Glock 9mm pistol two years ago.

The fact that Dave left no money was revealed in a Letter of Administration, a legal document filed when someone has died without making a will, filed at London‘s High Court.

In it, the registrar wrote, “The application has stated that the gross value of the estate in the UK amounts to £0.”

Courtney’s wife, known as Jenny Bean, was named as the administrator of his estate.

Documents show his house was sold for £500,000 in July 2024, nine months after his death, but with no explanation whether money went to his family.

An underworld source said: “Dave was not doing well at the end and did not have as much as people thought.

An investigation into Courtney’s death in March 2025 heard how he killed himself as he could not cope with crippling arthritis. Courtney also had prostate cancer and struggled with mobility.

The reformed gangster shot himself in the head with the illegally-owned gun at his home in Plumstead, South East London. Police were called by a friend who found him in the early hours of October 22, 2023.

Courtney left several suicide video notes, the inquest at Southwark coroner’s court heard.

In one he said: “I’m hurting, in lot of pain, my arthritis is crippling and I’m having to hide the fact I can’t go up and down the stairs and get out the car.

In a last video, just hours before his death, he said: “To everyone, I didn’t mean to hurt you but I’ve had enough of this, goodbye.”

After his death his family said he had lived an “incredible” life.

Courtney moved on from a life of crime to become a TV actor and author, writing six books and appearing in documentaries and films including The Dead Sleep Easy.

A family statement issued after his Courtney’s suicide said: “He lived an incredible, colourful rock ’n’roll life in which he touched the hearts of so many. “He chose to ‘stop the ride’. In his own immortal words ‘stop the ride, I want to get off’.”