Man Dies Mysteriously After Heartbreaking Final Call to Wife and $200K Restaurant Deposit

A French chef’s unexpected death remains a mystery after he made a frantic call to his wife and invested $200,000 toward their future in New York City.

François-Tanguy Olivon, 34, was discovered dead after surveillance footage showed him falling from a bridge in Bayonne, France.

He and his wife, Manon, had been planning to relocate to New York with their children and had already put down a large sum to start their restaurant, Chez Fanfan, in SoHo.

While vacationing in southern France, Olivon suddenly went missing after calling his wife in a panic early in the morning on February 22.

According to the French media outlet Sud Ouest, Manon shared her account of the events.

“He was shouting at me for help, to come and get him right away,” she said.

Manon shared on Facebook that Olivon, who was visibly drunk and alone, told her he was in danger and had been attacked by multiple people.
That was the last time she heard from him. Later that night, a passerby saw him wearing a ripped t-shirt.

Surveillance footage captured him falling from a bridge, and his body was recovered from the Adour River 12 days later.

Their plans for a new life in New York City came to a heartbreaking halt with his passing.

Manon told the New York Post that they had already deposited a $166,000 deposit and paid $47,500 for two months’ rent covering January and February.

“Everything was ready – the location, the preparations – but not, this dream will never come true,” her GoFundMe statement read.

Now alone with her two young children, Manon felt their dream was no longer within reach.

On March 1, she wrote to the landlord, informing him of her husband’s passing. She requested that Robert Moskowitz, the owner of Only Properties LLC in New York, return at least some of the money they had already paid.

“Today, I am not writing to a landlord – I am writing to a man. A man who, I hope can look beyond clauses and figures and understand that sometimes, life puts us through unimaginable trials that we cannot face alone,” she added.

“If you cannot return the full amount, then I bed you to at least return one month’s rent. It would be an immense help to me and my children.”

However, her request was not only denied, but she was also warned that she could be responsible for the full 10-year lease, which totaled $3 million, unless she signed a “surrender agreement.”

According to the New York Post, only Properties attorney Nicole Waknine wrote to Manon, “Refusing to sign the surrender agreement will not result in a return of your security deposit, but it will result in you being held fully responsible for all of the obligations set forth in the parties’ lease agreement.”

Manon signed the surrender agreement, but all of their savings had already gone into building their dream life in New York City.

“I don’t have anything. I don’t have a house anymore because we sold it a while ago to move to New York. I no longer have a car either. I no longer have a job because my husband and I have sold our… restaurant in Brittany,” she stated.

“Leaving me with no resources while I struggle to secure a future for my children,’ she wrote. I have to start from scratch – without my husband, without our dream, and with two young children depending on me.”

Manon hopes the fundraiser will help her support her children after losing their father and most of their savings, as well as cover expenses related to his passing.

“We were a close-knit family, full of love and dreams. François-Tanguy was an exceptional father and husband, a kindhearted man who always put others before himself,” she wrote.

“Now, Rose (4 years old), Ethan (8 years old), and I must find a way forward without him, but the reality is devastating. Although this support represents only a fraction of what we had invested to start a new life, it will help me navigate this hardship with a little more peace of mind and provide Rose and Ethan with some much-needed stability.”

Source: Daily Mail – New York Post