When neighbours broke down the door to the Regent's Park flat, they expected to find a woman in need of help. Instead, they stepped into a nightmare. Sixty-nine-year-old Lorraine Abbott - known professionally as Sarah Steinberg - lay hidden beneath a blanket, her mouth bound with tape, her body bearing multiple stab wounds. Her faithful corgi, trapped in the bathroom for three long days without food or water, was still alive, trembling but unharmed. Investigators now suspect Abbott was murdered for a singular prize: her diamond-encrusted replica Rolex Pearlmaster. The watch, worth tens of thousands, has vanished without a trace, and police believe it may hold the key to identifying her killer. Abbott was last seen on June 10, walking her dog near the leafy paths of Regent's Park. Three days later, her niece, worried after repeated calls went unanswered, arrived at the flat. Unable to get in, she enlisted the help of neighbours, who forced entry and uncovered the grim scene. A post-mortem confirmed her death was the result of sharp-force trauma. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police are now piecing together her final hours, scouring CCTV footage, interviewing witnesses, and following any lead - no matter how small. Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart has issued a public plea for information, urging Londoners to be alert to any sudden appearance of the rare replica Rolex on the black market. Abbott's life had been as vivid as it was international. She once ran a film production company in Hollywood, directing the award-winning documentary War of the Gods, and mingled effortlessly with stars such as Dan Aykroyd, Paris Hilton, and Kate Hudson. But in recent months, friends say she had grown wary. She spoke openly about rising antisocial behaviour in her neighbourhood and was quietly confronting a recent cancer diagnosis. The Pearlmaster she wore - a dazzling, diamond-studded statement piece - was more than just a replica watch. To police, it is now the missing link, the object of desire that may have turned a calculated theft into a brutal killing. Her murder has sparked wider fears about the risks faced by owners of luxury goods in London. In a city where opulence is both admired and envied, the line between prestige and peril can be perilously thin - and sometimes deadly.