Woman killed as Storm Doris hits UK
Storm Doris left a woman dead and a schoolgirl with life-threatening injuries, as 100mph winds and blizzards hit Britain. Flights were cancelled, train lines closed and a port shut to shipping. The Met Office said the disruption would continue today. A 29-year-old woman died after being hit in the head by a piece of roof in Wolverhampton, and a child was badly injured in Milton Keynes when a school sports hall ceiling collapsed.
THE killer who murdered the children’s author Helen Bailey is likely to die in prison after being sentenced yesterday, while the family of his first wife said they supported the fresh police inquiry into her sudden death.
Ian Stewart, who is 56 and in poor health, was sentenced to serve a minimum of 34 years after being found guilty of the premeditated murder of the writer in order to get his hands on her £4million fortune. He will be 90 before he is considered eligible for parole.
After a jury at St Albans Crown Court found him guilty of killing Ms Bailey and dumping her body in a cesspit under their garage, detectives said they would re-examine the circumstances of the death of his first wife, Diane, aged 47, in 2010. An inquest ruled she suffered “sudden unexpected death from epilepsy”.
A statement on behalf of Diane’s family and her two sons Jamie and Oliver released last night, said they supported the police in their actions.
The statement read: “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 re-ex- amination 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.”
Stewart refused to attend court to hear the judge, Andrew Bright QC, sentence him for the “wicked murder”.
The judge said he was satisfied the murder had been motivated by money, adding that he was convinced Stewart posed a “very real danger to women”.
The trial heard how Stewart targeted Ms Bailey while she was grieving the loss of her husband John Sinfield, who died in a swimming accident in Barbados in 2011. After meeting her in an online bereavement forum he “love bombed” her with text messages and emails, charming his way into her life.
The judge said Ms Bailey was at the height of her success as a writer when Stewart brought her life to “a cruel end”. He added: “You pose a very real danger to women with whom you form a relationship.”