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

[jessie]

Is it likely to be reported which prison IS will be sent to serve his 34 years ?

 

[Interested Bystander]

I've been trying various search terms in the threads, as I also seem to remember this - wasn't this part of his evidence? But I'm coming up blank.

I remember something along these lines anyway - definitely that them spending a bit more time apart had been good for them etc...

uke:

That is reassuring - thank you. I know I read it somewhere but I don't do FB, Twitter, Whatsapp or anything similar. I assumed it was copied and pasted by someone who visits this forum..

.

 

[icemaiden65]

Thank you Icemaiden. Here is what I saw at Rightmove

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-pr...l?prop=25921545&sale=73494081&country=england

Thanks for that! Better than looking at the details through a faded out screen.

 

[Alyce]

I've been trying various search terms in the threads, as I also seem to remember this - wasn't this part of his evidence? But I'm coming up blank.

I remember something along these lines anyway - definitely that them spending a bit more time apart had been good for them etc...

uke:

I remember that, but I cant find it in his evidence so far

 

[Interested Bystander]

Thanks for that! Better than looking at the details through a faded out screen.

I think there are two rooms in the loft on your link so maybe it was assumed they were two bedrooms. I cannot read the plan as it is too blurry (or I am losing visual acuity) so am unsure whether it says storeroom or bedroom on floor 3. My linked information did not even show a third floor. Not that it matters in the big picture.

 

[icemaiden65]

BTW, Diane's father died not long before she did (MND), so her Mum is a widow. Thankfully Diane's sister appears to be a strong lady who will support her Mum during the investigation into Diane's death.

 

[MillyM]

Helen Bailey - author, widow, fiancée, dog owner, football fan - was found dead in July 2016. The man she loved, Ian Stewart, drugged and suffocated her before throwing her body into a cesspit. But those who knew and loved her do not want her to be remembered for how she died.
"The world has lost a gifted author". The words of Helen Bailey's brother John were repeated by the judge at St Albans Crown Court when he sentenced Ian Stewart to 34 years in prison.
Her skills as a writer had shone through when she started blogging following the death of her husband John Sinfield in 2011, getting to know people from across the country as she chronicled her life as a widow.
Here, some of those people share their memories of her:

Laraine Mason met Ms Bailey online following the death of John Sinfield and Ms Mason's own husband.
"We were all part of this community of bereaved people, and she was welcomed into it, but it soon became apparent she brought something else to the table - her ability as a writer," Ms Mason recalled. "She put into words what most of us thought but couldn't articulate. It resonated. It was written in a language people could understand.
"But when I talked to Helen, there was more to our conversations than the commonality of bereavement. At her memorial service, people from the widowed community turned up. This was somebody who touched people on another level."

BBC Radio 4 presenter Jane Garvey met Ms Bailey in October 2015 while the author was promoting her book.
"Some people I've interviewed stick in my mind; some don't," she said. "Helen Bailey didn't just stick in my mind, she struck a chord with the audience and generated a huge response when she appeared on Woman's Hour. I'd read her book, When Bad Things Happen In Good Bikinis, and when I met Helen she was exactly the sort of person I'd hoped she would be.
"I was asked to read an excerpt from one of her books at her memorial service in November, and after talking to her friends and family I realised what a strong partnership she'd had with her husband John Sinfield.
"Her description in her book of the day he died is a brilliant piece of writing. She deserves to be remembered as more than a murder victim - she was a great writer and an astute businesswoman, as well as being so funny and honest about herself. I feel lucky to have met her."

Another friend of Ms Bailey, Emily Thomas, said she would remember the writer as "effervescent - full of life, incredibly talented, warm, funny, vivacious. I'll remember her as somebody who took every opportunity to love life despite the tragedy she went though when her husband John died in 2011. She was an incredibly life-affirming person.
"I think with bereavement, it's not a linear thing, and I think she certainly came out of a period of great darkness into another period of her life with more positivity. But it takes a long time to get over that kind of loss. I think she grasped any opportunity to feel good about life.
"Boris the Dachshund saw her through some really dark times. She adored him. He was her trusted little companion for a long time, and a dog she had with her husband. He meant a huge amount to her. He was the love of her life."

Online sales of Helen Bailey's books have jumped considerably in light of the end of the trial, with her first book for adults - "When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis" - seeing a 17,000% increase in sales on Amazon in the last 24 hours.
Before its publication in 2015, Ms Bailey had written more than 20 other books for children and young adults, including the Electra Brown and Daisy Davenport series.
In the weeks before her death, Ms Bailey and Stewart - who had experience as a web designer - were working on a new blog site called "And Beyond: One Life Live It".
Under the headings Fashion, Dogs, Flowers, Food and Life, test posts still appear, with one reading: "This is just a test post to see how things work on this blog that my super duper man has organised for me."
There are also pictures of her beloved Boris, who is seen next to a copy of her book - the same book which is now climbing the sales charts, introducing new readers to her writing and ensuring her legacy will not be forgotten.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-39051242

 

[icemaiden65]

I think there are two rooms in the loft on your link so maybe it was assumed they were two bedrooms. I cannot read the plan as it is too blurry (or I am losing visual acuity) so am unsure whether it says storeroom or bedroom on floor 3. My linked information did not even show a third floor. Not that it matters in the big picture.

Last on the subject I promise. 5 bedrooms plus a store room off one of the bedrooms on 2nd floor and two bedrooms on 3rd floor. Cross eyed here now! x Curry making time here!

 

[Interested Bystander]

BTW, Diane's father died not long before she did (MND), so her Mum is a widow. Thankfully Diane's sister appears to be a strong lady who will support her Mum during the investigation into Diane's death.

My DH has just asked would it not be better if the family did not find out it could have been murder? Thinking about it, finding out one's daughter had been murdered rather than had died from unknown, possibly natural, causes, could be very disturbing.

 

[Tortoise]

My DH has just asked would it not be better if the family did not find out it could have been murder? Thinking about it, finding out one's daughter had been murdered rather than had died from unknown, possibly natural, causes, could be very disturbing.

If it was my daughter or sister I would want to know.

 

[Cherwell]

My DH has just asked would it not be better if the family did not find out it could have been murder? Thinking about it, finding out one's daughter had been murdered rather than had died from unknown, possibly natural, causes, could be very disturbing.

That cat was out of the bag quite some time ago.

 

[badhorsie]

My old girl.

Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk

 

[Tortoise]

[FONT=&amp]But relatives have expressed "huge concerns" over the circumstances and have backed the fresh police probe.[/FONT]

View photos


Diane Stewart died unexpectedly in 2010. Police are now re-examining the case
More
[FONT=&amp]One family member, who requested anonymity, said: "We were told at the time it was an unexplained death and it has worried me, it has been on my mind that it was unexplained."[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]“He [Stewart] was the only one there when she died… I know her brother and sister have been very concerned. Her mother has been very concerned too, it has been awful for her.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Following Mrs Stewart's, the trial heard how her husband 'received a number of lump sums'. These included £28,000 from Cambridge County Council, a £33,000 life insurance policy and £16,000 Legal and General policy.

................

From the same article in relation to Helen's murder -

DCI Kent said...[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
"What he did with her body shows what he thought of her. You would not put a loved one in a cesspit. I do not believe he ever wanted to go through with that marriage. He never bought the engagement ring even though she had chosen the stone and the setting.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]"To hide the body in the well knowing every time you went to the loo, where that was going. He had no love for that woman whatsoever and held her in utter contempt."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/helen-bailey-murder-fiance-ian-121813197.html
[/FONT]

 

[Interested Bystander]

That cat was out of the bag quite some time ago.

In a way, yes, but I think having confirmation that it was murder could be very distressing for her mother in particular.

 

[Squamous]

If it was my daughter or sister I would want to know.

I don't think they really have a choice about whether they will think about it, anyone would question it given the circumstances, and once you start questioning I think the most peace comes from an answer. I'm really not sure they will get an answer about Diane though.

 

[snoopydog]

I don't know Cherwell.

Yes


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[icemaiden65]

My DH has just asked would it not be better if the family did not find out it could have been murder? Thinking about it, finding out one's daughter had been murdered rather than had died from unknown, possibly natural, causes, could be very disturbing.

Oh I so agree with you and your wise hubby! Unfortunately it seems as if the police wheels were already rolling, almost right after they charged IS with Helen's murder. Plus, the family always had some doubts it seems - but perhaps not that IS was a murdering P*G. So the flip side is that, if possible, they deserve some sort of closure.

 

[KarenUK]

Tomorrows show is going to have a discussion about how IS was allowed to not attend court for the sentencing, with the comment that he should have been made to listen to the judge and face up to what he has done. I'm glad other people see that as cowardly and unacceptable, some times I get a bit caught up in the moment!

Link to the iPlayer of the show for anyone interested
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08f4j5j#play

 

[LozDa]

My DH has just asked would it not be better if the family did not find out it could have been murder? Thinking about it, finding out one's daughter had been murdered rather than had died from unknown, possibly natural, causes, could be very disturbing.

I can understand thinking that, but making sense of her death now might actually provide them with, if not relief, a sense of conclusion to something that may not have made sense to them.

I think had Helen's death not have happened, they probably would have carried on believing it was an epileptic fit of some kind and that thought might not have been as harrowing (I'm talking about the circumstances only)... but with the doubt that now surrounds that fact, it's the situation of once you know something you can't unknow it. I think they would want to know the truth now.

 

[cottonweaver]

So which prison is he at ? ( Thought Alyce had suggested Peterborough as a possible final destination, at one stage)

I want to see him a postcard from Joe & Nick.

Going to tune into this C5 programme tonight even though I don't hold much hopes for in-depth info .