Killer of children's author Helen Bailey questioned by police over death of his first wife
The killer of children’s author Helen Bailey has been questioned and reportedly arrested over the death of his first wife in 2010.
Police said a 57-year-old man from Bedford was detained on suspicion of murder on Tuesday in connection with the death of Diane Stewart in Cambridgeshire.
Detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit have arrested a man following a re-examination of 47-year-old Diane Stewart’s death at her home in June 2010.
At the time she was married to Ian Stewart, who was convicted last year of murdering Bailey, his fiancee, in 2016 at the luxury home they shared together.
Following the court case, police announced a new investigation into the death of Diane Stewart, who was found in the garden of the house she shared with Ian in June 2010.
An inquest at the time concluded she died of natural causes as a result of epilepsy.
On Wednesday, Hertfordshire Police said the arrested man had been released under investigation.
A spokesperson said: "The 57-year-old man from Bedford was arrested on Tuesday August 21 and questioned on suspicion of murder before being released under investigation."
Ian Stewart was jailed for 34 years at St Albans Crown Court for smothering Bailey.
The court was told he spent weeks poisoning his bride-to-be with prescription sedatives before smothering her, in a plot motivated by greed.
The Electra Brown writer was dragged into a cesspit below the garage of the couple’s £1.5 million home, where she remained hidden for three months.