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Helen Bailey murderer Ian Stewart jailed for 34 years Helen Bailey murderer Ian Stewart jailed for 34 years
(35 minutes later)
The "wicked" fiance of children's author Helen Bailey, who murdered her and dumped her body in a cesspit, has been jailed for 34 years.The "wicked" fiance of children's author Helen Bailey, who murdered her and dumped her body in a cesspit, has been jailed for 34 years.
Ian Stewart, 56, secretly drugged and suffocated Ms Bailey in a plot to inherit her near-£4m fortune. Her body was found under the home they shared in Royston, Hertfordshire, last July.Ian Stewart, 56, secretly drugged and suffocated Ms Bailey in a plot to inherit her near-£4m fortune. Her body was found under the home they shared in Royston, Hertfordshire, last July.
Stewart was convicted on Wednesday.Stewart was convicted on Wednesday.
Judge Andrew Bright QC said it was "difficult to imagine a more heinous crime".Judge Andrew Bright QC said it was "difficult to imagine a more heinous crime".
Sentencing Stewart at St Albans Crown Court, he said: "I am in no doubt that this is a clear case of a murder done in the expectation of gain". Stewart reported Ms Bailey missing three months before her body was found in the "foul-smelling" cesspit alongside the corpse of her dachshund Boris.
Live: Reaction to Ian Stewart sentencing 'Wicked lies'
Sentencing at St Albans Crown Court, Judge Bright QC said Stewart had spun a "calculated and callous series of lies" in a bid to convince police, relatives and friends that Miss Bailey had genuinely gone missing.
The judge said Stewart had decided to kill Ms Bailey's beloved Boris to make his "wicked lies...sound credible to those who knew her well".
There was, he said, a "significant degree of planning and premeditation" put into the murder, with financial gain Stewart's "principal motive".
Ms Bailey had been "excitedly making arrangements" for the pair's wedding while Stewart was "planning how to kill her, hide her body and explain her disappearance as a case of an anxious woman running off because she could no longer cope with the more stressful aspects of her life."
Helen Bailey: A life shaped by deathHelen Bailey: A life shaped by death
Stewart had denied murder, claiming two men called Nick and Joe had kidnapped Ms Bailey, who wrote the Electra Brown series of teen novels, in April last year and blackmailed him for £500,000.Stewart had denied murder, claiming two men called Nick and Joe had kidnapped Ms Bailey, who wrote the Electra Brown series of teen novels, in April last year and blackmailed him for £500,000.
But the jury did not believe him, taking just over six hours of deliberating to convict him. But jurors took just over six hours to convict him after hearing seven weeks of evidence.
He refused to return to the dock for sentencing.
Judge Bright QC said there had been a "significant degree of planning and premeditation" put into the murder.
The court heard Stewart had secretly plied Ms Bailey with sleeping drug zopiclone in the weeks leading up to her death to render her more vulnerable.The court heard Stewart had secretly plied Ms Bailey with sleeping drug zopiclone in the weeks leading up to her death to render her more vulnerable.
Stewart had then deceived police and Ms Bailey's friends and relatives with "a calculated and callous series of lies" while she was thought to be missing, the judge said. "I am firmly of the view that you currently pose a real danger to women with whom you form a relationship," Judge Bright QC said.
"You persisted in that callous lie for three months, repeating it to anyone and everyone who enquired about the circumstances of her disappearance," he said.
During his trial, the prosecution said Stewart had played "the long game" in order to inherit Ms Bailey's fortune, made from the publication of more than 20 books.During his trial, the prosecution said Stewart had played "the long game" in order to inherit Ms Bailey's fortune, made from the publication of more than 20 books.
"You knew Helen Bailey to be a wealthy woman but were not content with having to share in her wealth as her husband. Instead you wanted it all for yourself," the judge said."You knew Helen Bailey to be a wealthy woman but were not content with having to share in her wealth as her husband. Instead you wanted it all for yourself," the judge said.
"I am firmly of the view that you currently pose a real danger to women with whom you form a relationship," he added."I am firmly of the view that you currently pose a real danger to women with whom you form a relationship," he added.
The court heard Stewart launched a "love-bombing" campaign in a bid to woo the author after meeting her in an online bereavement group following the death of her husband in 2011.The court heard Stewart launched a "love-bombing" campaign in a bid to woo the author after meeting her in an online bereavement group following the death of her husband in 2011.
Detectives are now re-examining the death of Stewart's wife Diane, who died after an epileptic seizure at the couple's home in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, in 2010. As a result of the case, detectives are now re-examining the death of Stewart's wife Diane, who died after an epileptic seizure at the couple's home in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, in 2010.