Upon being discharged, he found employment at Walt Disney World in the United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot, where he would speak with an English accent while entertaining visitors.
[6] In 1983 Stopford assumed the identity of Christopher Edward Buckingham, an infant who died eight months after birth.
[9] Beginning in 1997, he adopted the title 'Earl of Buckingham',[6] a peerage that has been extinct since 1687,[10] and claimed to have a seat in the House of Lords.
[1] 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.
[14] Stopford refused to reveal his true identity and nationality,[15] leading to tabloid speculation he could have been a fugitive or a former East German spy.
[1] Stopford reunited with his family but claimed not to remember his past due to having suffered amnesia as a result of a car accident in 2002.
[17] The Stopford case was the subject of the Sky One documentary The Real Jackal[21] and was featured in the BBC Three series Bizarre Crimes.