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Abroad

Veteran Member
Children's author Helen Bailey was secretly drugged by her partner before being killed in a "cynically executed murder that had money as its driving motive", a court has heard.

The 51-year-old's body was found in a cesspit in the grounds of her home in Royston, Hertfordshire, in July, having been missing since 11 April.

Her partner Ian Stewart, who she was due to marry, suffocated her and dumped her in the pit, a jury was told.

Mr Stewart, 56, denies murder.

Prosecutors told the jury they had made arrangements for Mr Stewart to obtain the house and "substantial financial advantage" in the event of Ms Bailey's death before the wedding - which was due to take place "imminently".

Stuart Trimmer QC, said, it was "a long-planned, deliberate killing, a cynically executed murder that had money as its driving motive."

The court heard in the hours after killing her, Mr Stewart had amended a monthly standing order from Ms Bailey's account into his from £600 to £4,000.

During the time Ms Bailey was supposedly "missing," it is alleged Mr Stewart had twice requested copies of her will.

Mr Stewart had been giving Northumberland-born Ms Bailey sleeping pills for several months, before killing her on 11 April 2016.

Records show the author had been Googling: "Why do I keep falling asleep?".

Mr Stewart "killed her, probably by suffocation whilst she was sedated by the drugs he administered", Mr Trimmer said.

Ms Bailey's body was found three months later alongside that of the dog, in the pit beneath the garage.

Mr Stewart failed to tell police about the cesspit's location and had attempted to hide it by parking Ms Bailey's Jeep over it, the court heard.

When officers found it, they saw a human arm protruding from the effluent material. The remains of the dog were then discovered.

The court was told the dog had to be killed to support Mr Stewart's claim Ms Bailey had left their home, as she was "devoted to Boris, and the notion that she would have left home without him was unthinkable".

[...]

As well as murder, Mr Stewart is also charged with fraud, preventing lawful burial and three counts of perverting the course of justice.

He has denied all six charges.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38567852


Children's author Helen Bailey may have been alive when she was dropped into a cesspit at her home, a court has heard.

Pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary told St Albans Crown Court it was "possible that she was put down the well in an unconscious state and then drowned".

Ms Bailey's body was discovered in a cesspit beneath the garage submerged in liquid, including human excrement, the court heard.

The body of her dachshund Boris was found next to her, together with a dog's toy.

Post-mortem tests showed no signs of injury. There were no broken bones, no evidence of bruising or brain bleed, he told the jury.

Analysis of her hair found traces of the sedative Zopiclone, which had been prescribed to Mr Stewart, had been in her system for several months and was present at the time of her death.

Toxicologist Dr Mark Piper said side effects of the drug could include short term memory loss perhaps leading someone to think "their mind was playing tricks".

The jury was told earlier that in the weeks before her death the writer had emailed friends describing how she felt confused and mentally impaired.

The vet who carried out post-mortem tests on Ms Bailey's dog had been unable to ascertain the cause of death.

No Zopiclone was found in its system and in a statement from Dr Jonathan Williams the jury was told it was not possible to "confirm or refute whether the animal drowned".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38583555


Author Helen Bailey joked to her brother a cesspit at her home was a "good place to hide a body", a trial has heard.

John Bailey told St Alban's Crown Court the joke was made in "full earshot" of Mr Stewart.

He said the quip was made during his first and only visit to his sister's new home in August 2013 - almost three years before her death.

"Helen showed us the house and garden, the outbuildings, the garage," he said.

"I think it was Helen, but it could have been one or both of them, mentioned an old well in the garage. I asked where and was directed to half way along the right hand side of the wall.

"Then there was some banter, almost certainly instigated by Helen, that it was a good place to hide a body," he added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38595573


The man accused of murdering author Helen Bailey twice tried to use power of attorney while she was missing in order to sell her flat, a court heard.

Her fiancé, Ian Stewart, 56, who denies murder, visited her solicitor in Ms Bailey's place on 11 April, the day she went missing, to discuss the sale.

Ms Bailey had been due to meet her solicitor Timothy Penn to discuss the sale of her £185,000 Gateshead flat on the afternoon of 11 April.

Instead, Mr Stewart attended saying his partner was unwell, Mr Penn told the jury.

While she was missing, Mr Stewart tried to push the sale through and was "not at all pleased" by the lack of progress, the solicitor said.

Mr Penn told the jury during one phone call Mr Stewart said: "You probably know that Helen is missing and I'm wondering if you can carry on with this transaction in the meantime."

Mr Penn said: "I said effectively no. He talked about a power of attorney and I said in these circumstances we would want to hear from Helen."

Earlier in the trial, the court heard Mr Stewart had been given power of attorney alongside Ms Bailey's brother John in 2015, allowing him to control her affairs should she become unfit to administer them.

Mr Stewart's sons Jamie and Oliver Stewart were also in court to give evidence on the fifth day of the trial.

[...]

Jamie Stewart said on the day of the alleged killing, his father had travelled to Cambridge to watch him in a bowls match.

Later that evening the pair had a Chinese takeaway at their Royston home.

Jamie Stewart told the court, when he got home from work the following day - 12 April - his father told him Ms Bailey had left him a note saying she had gone to Broadstairs "to get some time for herself".

"Throughout that week, he began to get visibly more stressed out. He was spending a lot more time with myself and my brother and wanting to be around us," he said.

Several days later his father told Jamie he had reported Ms Bailey missing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38638088


The man accused of murdering the author Helen Bailey told police she had spoken of "wanting space", a trial has heard.

Ian Stewart made the comment during a recorded 999 call to report her missing, which was played to the jury at St Alban's Crown Court.

The call was made on 15 April, four days after Ms Bailey was allegedly murdered, the court was told.

Mr Stewart told the police operator his fiancee had been "very, very anxious and very worried about lots of things".

He said: "She has talked about wanting space because things just haven't been going well for her recently, or for us."

In the recording, the jury heard the defendant say Ms Bailey had appeared stressed about losing venues for the couple's forthcoming marriage.

[...]

Mr Stewart claimed he had been in contact with Helen's friends and her brother and none had heard from her.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38652667


The man accused of murdering children's author Helen Bailey "grinned" when questioned by police, a court heard.

Det Con Hollie Daines, who interviewed him at the Royston home, said: "It was odd when he appeared to turn his head to the side and look at us and grin."http://www.dreamindemon.com/community/forums/in-the-mean-time.37/create-thread

She said he had refused to be interviewed at the first attempt on 21 April, claiming to be "feeling unwell" and he "couldn't be bothered".

"He seemed quite blasé and non-committal," Ms Daines told St Albans Crown Court.

When he was interviewed the following day, she said he was "really anxious", "restless" and was "pacing around" while the property was searched.

Earlier Sgt Stephen Oliphant told the court how he had prodded the surface of the cesspit with a garden hoe and the body floated to the top.

"I realised I was hitting a different object that felt slightly softer.

"Solid matter was moved away and the body came to the surface," he said.

Sgt Nicole Goodyear told the court Mr Stewart followed police "everywhere" during a search on 15 April.

She said: "He was very interested in what we were doing, he wanted to know what we were doing and why."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38692970
 
Another Awesome for the headline @Abroad .
Doesn't seem like enough money to commit murder, but people have done it for much less.
And never leave the murder victim in your own septic tank! Put it in someone else's septic tank. Total fail on follow through because why else do premeditated murder?

ETA:I never needed to dispose of murder victims. But I have a septic tank. And a big hot compost heap. Things don't decompose fast on your own property. Bones certainly don't.
Plan ahead people! Kill the victim far away, and take the corpse even further.
Better yet... don't do it.
 
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makes me sick, killed the poor woman and her dog who would have probably alerted everyine if not dead, evil pos he needs to be drowned in a cess pool as they could have been put in there alive
 
This is gruesome. :wtf: I've learned that whenever someone says in jest that someplace would be a "great place to hide a body," sooner or later a body will be there. Fuck you for killing the dog, too.

1zefix0.jpg


Eek! His face looks...mushy? Like someone took it apart but didn't pay much attention when they put it back together?
 
In the weeks before she had vanished, Mrs Bailey said her daughter had confided in her about leaving Boris on the beach by mistake and not being able to recognise her hands on a computer keyboard.

"That really worried me. She just had such a good memory beforehand," Mrs Bailey told the jury.

A post-mortem examination found traces of an anti-insomnia drug which had been prescribed to Mr Stewart, the court heard previously.

Mrs Bailey described how her daughter had called her and told her "in this panicked voice" that she had "just slept five hours" after having a full night's sleep.

She told the court she thought Mr Stewart had cooked her daughter breakfast on the morning of the call, but on cross-examination said she could not be sure.

Mrs Bailey, 88, also said she had felt "uneasy" about the relationship between Ms Bailey and Mr Stewart.

"Latterly I was quite unhappy - mainly because of Helen's state of mind," she said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38719624
 
Holy crap. What an absolute cold hearted bastard he is. I cant put into words how calculating one must have to be to plan a murder like this. From drugging her to playing the role of dutiful fiance and playing sad in front of his kids. Dude is a real piece of fucking work and I hope he gets 25 to life cos he is a conman and he will find another victim.
 
Dude is a real piece of fucking work and I hope he gets 25 to life cos he is a conman and he will find another victim.[/QUOTE]
it's the UK he'll be in some clinic for 5 years then sent to the seaside with a paid cottage
 
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it's the UK he';; be in some clinic for 5 years then sent to the seaside with a paid cottage

Along with a new identity and name change![/QUOTE]
yeah, never will forget that case with the scum couple that tortured the little boy to death that's what they got
 
Tracey Connelly, Steven Barker and his brother Jason Owen. Also the two boys who tortured and killed James Bulger, and Maxine Carr, ex-girlfriend of Ian Huntley, who helped him cover up the murders of two little girls.

Here's a gem:
Tracie Andrews, 40, who was jailed for life in 1997 for stabbing partner Lee Harvey, 25, near their Alvechurch home and then tried to pin the murder on a phantom road-rage killer, is likely to be released in two years time. She has already had £5,000 worth of cosmetic surgery and told prison warders that she ''expects to go on a month-long holiday".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/6035505/The-criminals-new-lives-that-cost-us-millions.html
 
This guy will probably jump, nay LEAP at the chance for dental work and plastic surgery. He's won the lottery.
 
Experts spent two days recovering a children's author from a cesspit where her body was dumped, a court has heard.

In July, three months after she vanished, her body, together with that of her dog, was found in the septic tank at her home.

Jurors were shown images of Ms Bailey's elbow, which was encased in a "hard crust" of excrement inside the tank.

Det Ch Insp Jerome Kent, one of the officers who found Ms Bailey's body, told the court: "I'm embarrassed to say it took me some convincing to work out what I was looking at.

"What I was faced with was a dry, hard crust of what I now know was more than mud.

"There was a small, very pale white object in that, which I now know was part of Helen's elbow."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38770542
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A man accused of killing his children's author fiancee in a financially-motivated plot has told a court he "didn't need the money".

Ian Stewart, 56, denies murdering Helen Bailey and dumping her body in order to inherit her fortune.

The 51-year-old Electra Brown writer was last seen on 11 April and reported missing by Mr Stewart on 15 April 2016.

He told St Albans Crown Court he had "more than [he] could spend" and the couple had been "lucky financially."

"Helen didn't work [I suspect this might have been news to the successful writer of children's books], I didn't work. Helen was comfortably off, our life couldn't be better really," he told jurors.

Mr Stewart said he "didn't understand" why a standing order into his account from Ms Bailey was increased to £4,000 using his computer.

However, he said he assumed Ms Bailey was responsible for the amendment - made on the same day she is alleged to have left without warning.

Asked if the couple ever argued, Mr Stewart told St Albans Crown Court: "No, I can categorically say that because after we were in a relationship for six months Helen said to me: 'This isn't a proper relationship, we haven't had an argument'.

"She said 'I'm scared if we ever have an argument because I don't know what would happen, but I guarantee we will make up'."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38907335


And this is poignant in view of later events: The review of her memoirs from some time before her disappearance.....

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ing-a-bikini-when-he-died-the-absurdity-of-it
 
this whole case really disgusts me. She seemed a wonderful person whose books brought joy to children and adults alike and didnt deserve this type of fate due t a scheming lowlife. It further reinforces my best friends theories. If either of us ever decide to go and hook up with someone we're actually supporting they are gonna be hot and younger with good maintenance skills as well as industrious about doing things around the house.
 
The fiance of a children's author has told a murder trial she was snatched by two men who warned him not to go to the police.

Ian Stewart, 56, denies murdering Helen Bailey and dumping her body in order to inherit her fortune.

He said one of the men attacked him on the day the Electra Brown writer vanished and warned he would not "see Helen again" if he spoke to police.

Mr Stewart claimed the men had hounded the writer over past business dealings.

He told his trial at St Albans Crown Court that he lied to Ms Bailey's friends, family and the police about her whereabouts out of fear for her life.

Two men, whom he knew only as Nick and Joe, were said to have been old business associates of her first husband, John Sinfield.

Stewart claimed he was attacked by the tattooed thug called Nick on his doorstep last spring.

He told the court: "As I opened the door, he pushed me back into the hall and he must have tripped me at some point.

"He said: 'Helen is with us, she is helping us solve a problem, don't tell anyone'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38907335
 
Two men said to resemble a children's author's supposed kidnappers have been presented in court to her fiance.

Ian Stewart denies murdering Helen Bailey and making up a story she was abducted by men called Joe and Nick.

The prosecution brought Nick Cook, Mr Stewart's neighbour, and Joe Cippullo, into St Albans Crown Court.

It is alleged the descriptions the accused gave to police matched the men, who he knew from his former home in Bassingbourn.

Prosecutor Stuart Trimmer told the jury that the descriptions bore a striking resemblance to Mr Stewart's acquaintances.

Asked if he knew Mr Cippullo, Mr Stewart replied: "Yes, he's a bowler."

Asked about Mr Cook, his reply was: "Yes, he's my next-door neighbour."

Mr Trimmer asked Mr Stewart if "when you look back and consider descriptions you gave... do you think of them?"

Mr Stewart replied "no" and "they don't compare at all".

Mr Trimmer then said: "They are both here so you can have a plain look at them."

Asked if he recognised the pair, Mr Stewart replied: "Yes, it's Nick and Joe."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38958324
[doublepost=1487016673,1487016204][/doublepost]
what a crock and all the more reason for him to be lynched

Should add that I agree that it is a crock, not that he should be lynched. I don't believe in vigilantism, no matter how tempting it can be at times.
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-

Should add that I agree that it is a crock, not that he should be lynched. I don't believe in vigilantism, no matter how tempting it can be at times.
I only believe in it after guilt has been proved and in this case it was as soon as he changed his monthly payments, gah, for what she was paying him for upkeep she could have gotten something allot better gp, the poor sweetheart, she thought it was love and he was a loathsome freeloading swine murderer
 
Ian Stewart has been found guilty and sentenced to a minimum of 34 years
Stewart was found guilty of murdering the author on Wednesday (February 22).

[...]

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.”

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”.

His previous wife died, too? :eek: I wonder how much of a financial windfall he gained from her death. I'm glad they are re-examining her death.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...urder-ian-stewart-jailed-years-killing-author
 
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