GUILTY UK - Helen Bailey, 51, Royston, 11 April 2016 #1

[Alyce]

Be interesting to know when Helen's mobile was turned off.

About 3.15pm I think on the Monday, will check back in notes


ETA
this is copied over from Court transcripts of January 10



Court resumes

The afternoon session has now got underway.
The court hears Helen was planning her forthcoming wedding to Stewart on the morning she disappeared.
She conducted searches on her iPad between 8.16am and 9.04am and was talking to friends about her wedding and wedding arrangements.
The last iPad search was made at 10.58am and 10.51am is the last confirmed contact with anybody from Helen Bailey.
Mr Trimmer said: “What happens thereafter is significant. A friend calls Helen at 12.13pm, but that call is not answered and goes to voicemail.
“By 3.18pm Helen Bailey’s phone was switched off, and has not connected to the network since.”

 

[Alyce]

Helen Bailey's jeep was parked in driveway, not over cesspit

Pc Webster is now being cross examined by the defence. He reiterates that Helen’s jeep was parked in the driveway on April 15, and not over the top of the cesspit in the garage, where Helen’s body was discovered.

Pc Webster has finished giving evidence.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/live-helen-bailey-murder-trial-12464906

 

[Alyce]

Next witness: Police officer Sarah Gilbertson

The next witness is police officer Sarah Gilbertson, from the local crime investigation team in north Hertfordshire. She said she was called to the house on Friday, April 15, to assist Pc Webster with the missing person’s report into Helen’s disappearance. Her notes, taken at the scene, are being read to jurors.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/live-helen-bailey-murder-trial-12464906

 

[Cherwell]

Helen Bailey's jeep was parked in driveway, not over cesspit

Pc Webster is now being cross examined by the defence. He reiterates that Helen’s jeep was parked in the driveway on April 15, and not over the top of the cesspit in the garage, where Helen’s body was discovered.

The manhole was covered over with something ostensibly to protect the floor from oil drips, wasn't it?
I wonder at what point that was put down.

 

[Alyce]

Known timings for the morning of Monday April 11.

Helen made Ipad searches between 8.16 and 9.04 am
Further searches between 9.10 - 9.30am
From 9.48 to approx 10.20-10.30am she was on line exchanging comments with Stuart Kye ( the widower she had met at a bereavement group )
10.51 am is her last contact with her good pal Tracey
10.58 am is the last activity on line

But despite this very tight time line we are supposed to believe that Helen found time to go out in the Jeep - to Tescos - 4 mins or so each way, plus shopping time.
Not only that, but she also returned in a very distressed state, saying she had had some kind of accident ? and that she was never going to drive again
Nevertheless, despite her distress, she was fine to get back on line and chat away happily to her friend

 

[Alyce]

What Stewart told police officer about Helen's disappearance

“Laptop still here. Known her for five years, met online.”

Her notes from what Stewart said, read: “She lost her husband five years ago, me, six years ago, bereavement.

“Engaged, no fuss. She’s been concerned whether I want to marry her. I’ve been in hospital with tests, things not gone smoothly. “Illnesses - she’s an anxious person, always has been.

“She had no plans to write another book but she had written a blog called Planet Grief. Described that it was stressful when she wrote it, and with hindsight, she wouldn’t have done.

“She didn’t sleep, and would feel quite sick when she gave interviews. From January interviews died down, then I had a cancer scare, but it wasn’t.

“Boris dog, been ill. Wedding has gone wrong, no venues, Helen wants it [to find a venue].

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/live-helen-bailey-murder-trial-12464906

 

[Alyce]

Stewart's account of day Helen went 'missing'

“In three years only spent one day apart when he was in ICU - the intensive care unit.

On Saturday, April 11, (Stewart) watched football, son went to play bowls, lounged around on Sunday, went for a dog walk. She [Helen] did some gardening.

“The Friday before Helen disappeared we found out that Brocket Hall in Royston couldn’t host wedding - third hotel we’d lost.

That really annoyed her. Frustration - she referred to it over the weekend.

“Monday - [Stewart] was due to have dressing changed. Helen stressed, so I changed the time, she gave me paperwork to take to the solicitor.

“In the morning Stewart said he went for a walk - she [Helen] was still going on about Brocket Hall. She wasn’t calm. She went to Tesco’s and came back, saying she never wanted to go in the car {Jeep} again. She went to her office, made our lunch, ate separately. Stewart went out at 3 to doctors, taking the BMW. He kissed her goodbye, asked her what she wanted for tea.

“Normal goodbye, she stood at window holding the dog. Returned around 5pm, drove to Royston, solicitor, Morrisons.

Got home, Helen wasn’t here, found note. The note said ‘I need some time, space to myself, going to Broadstairs, please do not contact me in any way, love you more, LV.’

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/live-helen-bailey-murder-trial-12464906


my edit here - Saturday was April 9
Brocket Hall is close to Welwyn Garden City, not in Royston

 

[mrjitty]

About 3.15pm I think on the Monday, will check back in notes


ETA
this is copied over from Court transcripts of January 10



Court resumes

The afternoon session has now got underway.
The court hears Helen was planning her forthcoming wedding to Stewart on the morning she disappeared.
She conducted searches on her iPad between 8.16am and 9.04am and was talking to friends about her wedding and wedding arrangements.
The last iPad search was made at 10.58am and 10.51am is the last confirmed contact with anybody from Helen Bailey.
Mr Trimmer said: “What happens thereafter is significant. A friend calls Helen at 12.13pm, but that call is not answered and goes to voicemail.
“By 3.18pm Helen Bailey’s phone was switched off, and has not connected to the network since.”

So this becomes a key evidential point per police officer Sarah Gilbertson

Stewart went out at 3 to doctors, taking the BMW.

He hasn't given himself much margin for error has he?

 

[Tortoise]

"please do not contact me in any way, love you more"

He's a bad liar that's all I can say.

 

[Alyce]

More notes from Stewart's conversation with police officer

“Stewart said: ‘I was cross with her just to leave without saying anything, If she’d wanted to go I’d have got her down there.’

The officer noted Stewart had said: “Didn’t do much, wasn’t worried, thought she’d be in Broadstairs, cross, frustrated.”

That night Stewart said he had no sleep, didn’t call Ms Bailey as thought she wanted time alone.

“Tuesday I got worried, bit of a blur, gardener came.

“Wednesday, I spoke to John. I called him, told him about note. John said he’d go down Thursday after work.

“Thursday, he spoke to neighbours, they’d not seen her.

“We’ve not been there for two months. It was Helen’s property.”

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/live-helen-bailey-murder-trial-12464906

 

[mrjitty]

He's a bad liar that's all I can say.

It's a bit of a fascination of mine the way these murderers are such poor script writers.

Instead of writing dialogue from the victim's point of view e.g.

"I need some time to myself, I will call you in a few days..."

... they always write the worst kind of B-Grade exposition, from their own perspective, explaining key plot elements

 

[Alyce]

So this becomes a key evidential point per police officer Sarah Gilbertson



He hasn't given himself much margin for error has he?

and, to be accurate - he must have gone out closer to 2.40pm because the drive to Bassingbourn Surgery is 10 - 12 minutes and they have a log of him arriving at 2.54pm.

Although he did have the three fictional dog walkers all seeing Helen in the side road at the back of the house at about 2.45pm, so he no doubt thought he'd covered that bit quite well

 

[Alyce]

Stewart was not keen to publicise Ms Bailey's disappearance

Pc Gilbertson said Stewart declined publicity, saying Helen would be angry if her face was in the press.

“’If you know Helen you’d know why we’d left it,’ he said.”

“Family feel it’s too early to go public. Publicity not authorised.” she wrote in her notes.

“Stewart said his gut feeling was that Helen would be in a hotel somewhere that would take dogs. He said Travelodge hotels take dogs.”

In her notes, she said Stewart said: “[Helen] lives in Highgate, loves Hampstead Heath. [He] tried to get her to go to doctor for anxiety and stress, but she refused to go.

“If she wants to do something, money is no object. Wanting time on her own does not surprise me, but the way she’s done it [does]. “Helen would not try to harm herself, no chance of suicide, passport at home, got lots of phone chargers. There was no suggestion whatsoever that anybody else was involved in taking Helen away.”

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/live-helen-bailey-murder-trial-12464906

 

[mrjitty]

So was his narrative that Helen went off somewhere and committed suicide?

Obviously it would become hard to explain how the body did not turn up after so many weeks.

He just seems like a dumb sociopath.

 

[Alyce]

Pc Gilbertson is cross-examined

Pc Gilbertson is now being cross examined by the defence. She said the conversation with Stewart, when she made the above notes, took one to two hours. She said while she making the notes, other officers were searching the house and garage area. That’s the end of Pc Gilbertson’s evidence.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/live-helen-bailey-murder-trial-12464906

 

[Alyce]

Court takes lunch break

Jurors are now taking a lunch break until 2pm.

 

[mrjitty]

and, to be accurate - he must have gone out closer to 2.40pm because the drive to Bassingbourn Surgery is 10 - 12 minutes and they have a log of him arriving at 2.54pm.

Although he did have the three fictional dog walkers all seeing Helen in the side road at the back of the house at about 2.45pm, so he no doubt thought he'd covered that bit quite well

So i wonder where the last phone ping was?

Or do we think he came back?

 

[Alyce]

The manhole was covered over with something ostensibly to protect the floor from oil drips, wasn't it?
I wonder at what point that was put down.

Yes, a piece of wood of some kind - am sure early info ( pre trial ) said the police noted the wood and thought it was to catch oil drips. Think they would have wanted to re state this in evidence today, to try and cover themselves for not noticing a manhole cover.

 

[Tortoise]

Didn't even know her eye colour or date of birth, but knew how much money was in her bank account.

 

[Tortoise]

So i wonder where the last phone ping was?

Or do we think he came back?

I don't understand how these things work, not having a mobile phone myself. It connected to the router in Broadstairs on 16th April when IS was there. What I don't understand is why it did that but didn't connect to the one in Royston after 11th April. I've heard they are supposed to be smart .