R v Stewart: Sentencing Remarks
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 09 February 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Criminal |
| Court | Crown Court |
R
-v-
Ian Stewart
Huntingdon Crown Court
Sentencing Remarks of Mr Justice Bryan
9 February 2022
1. Ian Stewart, on 23 February 2017, at St. Albans Crown Court, you were found guilty of the
cruel, planned, and premeditated murder for financial gain of your beloved fiancée, the
successful author Helen Bailey, whom you smothered whilst she was sedated with a
sleeping drug, zopiclone (prescribed to you but administered to her by you over a period of
months (as corroborated by hair analysis)), after which you dumped her body in a foul-
smelling cess-pit to decompose accompanied by her dachshund dog, to whom she was
devoted, who you had also killed to cover your tracks, dumped together with his dog toy, a
pillow case and two plastic bags. You then carried out an elaborate and callous charade over
a period of three months, pretending that Helen had disappeared, with you going on
awareness raising dog walks, having flyers printed, and sending texts and emails to her
mobile phone that you yourself had with you. You pleaded not guilty, despite the
overwhelming evidence against you, and gave evidence at your trial concocting a fanciful
tale that Helen Bailey had been kidnapped and that you played no role in her disappearance,
her murder or the concealment of her body. The jury were not deceived. For that murder
you were sentenced by HHJ Bright QC to life imprisonment with a 34 year minimum term.
He noted that you will be 90 years of age before you become eligible for parole.
2. Following that conviction, the earlier, and at the time, non-suspicious death of your equally
beloved wife Diane Stewart on 25 June 2010 was investigated by the police. At the time
your account was that you found your wife lifeless on the ground on the patio in the garden
of your house with froth emanating from her mouth and nose, and at a time when she was
seemingly putting out the washing, after you had returned from doing some shopping. After
what you were to say were attempts at CPR by you, at 11.24am you called 999, and almost
your opening words to the operator were “I think she’s had a fit” “She does have epilepsy”.
In the 18 mins and 35 second call that ensued you gave the appearance to the operator that
you were performing both CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation. Th e East Anglian Air
Ambulance and paramedics attended, but Diane was from the start found to be asystolic
(without electrical activity in the heart) and despite administration of adrenaline and
atropine and CPR, remained asystolic throughout, being declared dead at 12.02. A routine
coronial (non-forensic) post mortem was performed and no cause of death was ascertained.
However, in circumstances where Diane had been diagnosed as (mildly) epileptic many
years previously (although she had been fit free for 18 years) this was considered to allow
the label of “Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy” (SUDEP), such label being permitted
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