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| Helen Bailey murder: Ian Stewart jailed for at least 34 years for killing author | Helen Bailey murder: Ian Stewart jailed for at least 34 years for killing author |
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| Ian Stewart, the “callous” and “wicked” man who drugged and murdered his fiancee, Helen Bailey, before dumping her body in a cesspit to get his hands on her fortune, has been sentenced to at least 34 years in prison. | Ian Stewart, the “callous” and “wicked” man who drugged and murdered his fiancee, Helen Bailey, before dumping her body in a cesspit to get his hands on her fortune, has been sentenced to at least 34 years in prison. |
| Stewart was found guilty of murdering the author on Wednesday. He drugged Bailey with his own sleeping medication before hiding her body, along with that of her pet dachshund, Boris, in a 100-year-old cesspit concealed beneath the garage of their £1.3m property in Royston, Hertfordshire. | Stewart was found guilty of murdering the author on Wednesday. He drugged Bailey with his own sleeping medication before hiding her body, along with that of her pet dachshund, Boris, in a 100-year-old cesspit concealed beneath the garage of their £1.3m property in Royston, Hertfordshire. |
| The trial judge, Andrew Bright, sentenced Stewart, who refused to attend the hearing, to life with a minimum term of 34 years. He said: “I am firmly of the view that you currently pose a real danger to women with whom you form a relationship.” | The trial judge, Andrew Bright, sentenced Stewart, who refused to attend the hearing, to life with a minimum term of 34 years. He said: “I am firmly of the view that you currently pose a real danger to women with whom you form a relationship.” |
| Describing Stewart as “wicked”, the judge told him: “Whilst we will never know whether you may have had some additional motive for killing the woman who loved you and wanted to be your wife, I am in no doubt this is a clear case of a murder done in the expectation of gain with aggravating features which make it difficult to imagine a more heinous crime.” | Describing Stewart as “wicked”, the judge told him: “Whilst we will never know whether you may have had some additional motive for killing the woman who loved you and wanted to be your wife, I am in no doubt this is a clear case of a murder done in the expectation of gain with aggravating features which make it difficult to imagine a more heinous crime.” |
| Police are now re-examining the death of Stewart’s first wife, Diane, who died suddenly in 2010. An inquest ruled she had died of natural causes. Police said there was currently no evidence to suggest her death was suspicious and her family have since said they “support the police in their actions”. | |
| During the trial St Albans crown court heard that Stewart, 56, deceived police by telling them three days after Bailey went missing that she had gone to Broadstairs in Kent. He told police she had left a note that she “needed some space” and a missing persons investigation was launched. | During the trial St Albans crown court heard that Stewart, 56, deceived police by telling them three days after Bailey went missing that she had gone to Broadstairs in Kent. He told police she had left a note that she “needed some space” and a missing persons investigation was launched. |
| But on 11 April 2016, Stewart had killed Bailey, 51, probably by suffocation, before dumping her body in the cesspit. | But on 11 April 2016, Stewart had killed Bailey, 51, probably by suffocation, before dumping her body in the cesspit. |
| On the same day he changed a standing order from Bailey’s bank account to the couple’s joint account, switching the amount from £600 to £4,000. The former software engineer, who had not worked since the mid-1990s due to ill health, tried to delete the history of the transaction but a small fragment of information that read “11/4/2016” and “£4,000” was found on his laptop. | On the same day he changed a standing order from Bailey’s bank account to the couple’s joint account, switching the amount from £600 to £4,000. The former software engineer, who had not worked since the mid-1990s due to ill health, tried to delete the history of the transaction but a small fragment of information that read “11/4/2016” and “£4,000” was found on his laptop. |
| Bailey, who wrote fiction for young adults including the popular Electra Brown books, had changed her will in 2014 to make Stewart the main beneficiary. She also took out a life insurance policy to cover a potential £1.2m inheritance tax bill should she die before they were married. | Bailey, who wrote fiction for young adults including the popular Electra Brown books, had changed her will in 2014 to make Stewart the main beneficiary. She also took out a life insurance policy to cover a potential £1.2m inheritance tax bill should she die before they were married. |
| At only 51, she was “at the height of her success as a writer when you brought her life to a cruel end and dumped her body and that of her beloved dog Boris in a foul-smelling cesspit to decompose,” said Bright. | At only 51, she was “at the height of her success as a writer when you brought her life to a cruel end and dumped her body and that of her beloved dog Boris in a foul-smelling cesspit to decompose,” said Bright. |
| On the day of the murder he was captured on CCTV dumping a large white object – possibly a duvet used in the killing – at a tip, before trying to push through the sale of one of Bailey’s houses in Gateshead with her solicitor. That afternoon he went to watch his son play bowls before buying a Chinese takeaway for them both. That night, knowing Bailey was already dead, he sent a text message to her phone reading “xx”, the court heard. | On the day of the murder he was captured on CCTV dumping a large white object – possibly a duvet used in the killing – at a tip, before trying to push through the sale of one of Bailey’s houses in Gateshead with her solicitor. That afternoon he went to watch his son play bowls before buying a Chinese takeaway for them both. That night, knowing Bailey was already dead, he sent a text message to her phone reading “xx”, the court heard. |
| Stewart kept up a charade in the weeks and months after killing his partner. He paid for flyers to raise awareness about her disappearance but secretly renewed Arsenal season tickets using her account and then flew to Spain for a holiday the couple had planned to take together. | Stewart kept up a charade in the weeks and months after killing his partner. He paid for flyers to raise awareness about her disappearance but secretly renewed Arsenal season tickets using her account and then flew to Spain for a holiday the couple had planned to take together. |
| He was arrested, three months after Bailey went missing, on 11 July. His first response was: “You’re joking,” followed by: “Bloody hell, why?” and then: “Have you found Helen?” | He was arrested, three months after Bailey went missing, on 11 July. His first response was: “You’re joking,” followed by: “Bloody hell, why?” and then: “Have you found Helen?” |
| Stewart had hidden the fact that the house had a second cesspit under the garage, parking Bailey’s car over its opening. But after a further search on 15 July police discovered Bailey’s body there. | Stewart had hidden the fact that the house had a second cesspit under the garage, parking Bailey’s car over its opening. But after a further search on 15 July police discovered Bailey’s body there. |
| Alongside it was her dog Boris and a dog toy. Bright said: “She was so devoted to her dog, Boris, that you decided that you would have to kill him if the wicked lies you planned to tell were to sound credible to those who knew her well.” | Alongside it was her dog Boris and a dog toy. Bright said: “She was so devoted to her dog, Boris, that you decided that you would have to kill him if the wicked lies you planned to tell were to sound credible to those who knew her well.” |
| During police questioning Stewart maintained a near total silence, but later concocted a defence labelled “bizarre” by police. He claimed Bailey had gone missing after two men, known only as Nick and Joe, came to the house and assaulted and threatened him. He claimed the men were business associates of Bailey’s first husband and had kidnapped the author but the story was dismissed as a lie. | During police questioning Stewart maintained a near total silence, but later concocted a defence labelled “bizarre” by police. He claimed Bailey had gone missing after two men, known only as Nick and Joe, came to the house and assaulted and threatened him. He claimed the men were business associates of Bailey’s first husband and had kidnapped the author but the story was dismissed as a lie. |
| Stewart was also found guilty of fraud for altering a standing order; of preventing a lawful burial by hiding Bailey’s body; and of three counts of perverting the course of justice, including disposing of evidence, carrying out a “charade” in the days after her death and disposing of her mobile phone. | Stewart was also found guilty of fraud for altering a standing order; of preventing a lawful burial by hiding Bailey’s body; and of three counts of perverting the course of justice, including disposing of evidence, carrying out a “charade” in the days after her death and disposing of her mobile phone. |
| Bright said Stewart had “deceived Helen Bailey’s family and friends for a period of over three months by a calculated and callous series of lies which meant that they had to endure the anguish and misery of not knowing her whereabouts or her fate for a long time before the appalling truth emerged”. | Bright said Stewart had “deceived Helen Bailey’s family and friends for a period of over three months by a calculated and callous series of lies which meant that they had to endure the anguish and misery of not knowing her whereabouts or her fate for a long time before the appalling truth emerged”. |
| He commended the work of Hertfordshire police for securing the murder conviction. Three police officers DCI Jerome Kent, DS David Sharpe and DCs Jo-Anne Kerr and Wendy Tomlinson were singled out for praise, along with prosecutor Charles White. | He commended the work of Hertfordshire police for securing the murder conviction. Three police officers DCI Jerome Kent, DS David Sharpe and DCs Jo-Anne Kerr and Wendy Tomlinson were singled out for praise, along with prosecutor Charles White. |
| Bailey was grieving for her first husband, John Sinfield – who drowned in 2011 when the couple were on holiday in Barbados – when she met Stewart. Stuart Trimmer QC, prosecuting, told the jury Bailey was “grossly deceived by someone who was preying on her”. In a memoir about her loss, When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis, she described meeting Stewart, calling him her “gorgeous grey-haired widower”. On its final page she wrote: “BB, I love you. You are my happy ever after.” | Bailey was grieving for her first husband, John Sinfield – who drowned in 2011 when the couple were on holiday in Barbados – when she met Stewart. Stuart Trimmer QC, prosecuting, told the jury Bailey was “grossly deceived by someone who was preying on her”. In a memoir about her loss, When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis, she described meeting Stewart, calling him her “gorgeous grey-haired widower”. On its final page she wrote: “BB, I love you. You are my happy ever after.” |
| Stewart will now be 90 before he can apply for parole. | Stewart will now be 90 before he can apply for parole. |