Ian Stewart jailed for at least 34 years for murder of author Helen Bailey
Ian Stewart has been jailed for at least 34 years for murdering children's author Helen Bailey.
Stewart spent weeks poisoning his fiancee with prescription sedatives before smothering her in a plot to get his hands on her £1.8 million fortune last year.
He then dragged her body into a cesspit below the couple's luxury home where she remained hidden for three months.
Her devoted dachshund Boris was found dead at her side.
Stewart denied murder but was convicted by a jury at St Albans Crown Court.
The 56-year-old refused to appear in court or via video link for the sentencing hearing.
He will be 90 before he is even eligible to apply for parole and Judge Andrew Bright said he was not inclined to reduce that term.
"I am firmly of the view that you currently pose a real danger to women with whom you form a relationship," the judge added.
After Stewart's conviction for Ms Bailey's murder, police announced they would be re-examining the death of his first wife.
Diane Stewart, who has two sons with the killer, died suddenly in 2010.
Her body was found in the garden but officers fear Stewart may also have killer her.
Stewart met widow Ms Bailey, 51, on a Facebook group for the bereaved in 2011.
He showered her with affection to win his way into her trust and later her multi-million pound estate, gaining power of attorney over her affairs.
After they moved in together, he slowly began slipping her prescription anti-insomnia medication, possibly into her morning scrambled eggs.
Then, once she had been stupefied by the drugs, he killed her on April 11 last year.
He even killed her dog so the "wicked lies" he later told were credible when reporting Ms Bailey missing.
Stewart claimed Ms Bailey had left - with the dog - to get some "space" from him.
His deceit culminated with a fantastical tale of a kidnap plot by two men named Nick and Joe, whom he blamed for Ms Bailey's death.