Cesspit murderer jailed for 34 years
THE FAMILY of cesspit killer Ian Stewart’s late wife have publicly supported calls for a police probe into her sudden death.
The “wicked” predator was branded a “real danger to women” as he was jailed for 34 years at St Albans Crown Court for smothering his fiancée, children’s author Helen Bailey.
The death of Diane Stewart, who was found in the garden of the house she shared with Stewart in 2010, is set to be re-examined following the conviction.
Her family said in a statement: “The last few months, watching the investigation and trial of Helen Bailey’s murderer has been a difficult time for our family.
“We didn’t know Helen but our sympathy goes out to all of her family and friends, we cannot imagine what they have been through and how they are feeling.
“We are fully aware of the reexamination of Diane’s death and support the police in their actions and would like to thank the police for how they have supported our family during this difficult time.
“Whilst their work is ongoing we do not wish to make any further comment and would ask the press not to contact us.”
An inquest at the time concluded Mrs Stewart died of natural causes from a “sudden unexpected death in epilepsy”.
Her body was cremated, police said.
Detective Chief Inspector Jerome Kent said: “There is not a murder investigation into Diane Stewart, there is a re-examination of a sudden, unexpected death.”
The couple’s two sons, Jamie and Oliver, said in a statement the conviction of their last living parent had been an “extremely difficult time”. Jamie, 24, did not meet his father’s gaze as he was led from the dock following the guilty verdicts on Wednesday.
The two boys lived with Stewart and Ms Bailey at the sprawling £1.5m property under which her body was hidden.
They said in a statement: “We understand a significant investigation has been carried out since Helen went missing.
“Understandably this is an extremely difficult time for us and we have no further comment to make other than for the media to respect our privacy.”
Following a seven-week trial at St Albans Crown Court, Judge Andrew Bright sentenced Stewart, who refused to attend the hearing, to life with a minimum term of 34 years.
He told him: “I am firmly of the view that you currently pose a very real danger to women with whom you form a relationship.”
Stewart spent weeks poisoning his bride-to-be with prescription sedatives before smothering her last year in a “heinous” plot motivated by greed.
The Electra Brown writer was dragged into the tank of filth deep below the couple’s luxury home, where she remained hidden for three months.
Besotted Ms Bailey had been excitedly planning a wedding with the man she referred to in her writing as “the Gorgeous, Grey-Haired Widower” when he killed her.
He first met the vulnerable widow through a Facebook group for the bereaved in 2011. She had seen her husband drown during a holiday in the Barbados.
He them showered her with affection to win his way into her trust and later her multimillionpound estate.
After the couple moved into a luxury home together, the avaricious predator slowly began slipping her his prescription anti-insomnia medication.
Knowing he was her chief heir – standing to gain £1.8m in investments plus the value of two properties – he suffocated her with a pillow while she was “too drowsy to fight you off ”, the judge said.