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

[Cherwell]

It all goes to show what a poor actor he is. Anyone who had genuinely had a loved one go missing would have been racking their brains to think of every possible lead (no pun intended). And taking that phone call - I'd be like "I'd better answer that phone, it might be her". But he displayed no urgency, no worry at all.

 

[Joely 123]

Oh dear God - that is so possible - anything is possible.

 

[Satchie]

Yes that's my thought too.

If he managed that alone then it's quite a weight for someone with supposed muscle weakness to lift.

However I think someone else has posted that when medication for Myasthenia Gravis is taken and effective then there is a window of time when they will have near normal muscle strength. In that case 7.2kg would be no problem for one person.

I am sure this will be addressed at some point.




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There are lots of ways with levers, etc to move something without lifting. I recently dragged an extremely heavy object a good distance by slowly working a piece of carpet under it


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[hunkerdown]

That's where I saw it! The Sky reporter - thanks for finding : )

 

[Joely 123]

Brilliant - that is good calculation of HIS plan.

 

[Joely 123]

The manhole cover at 7.56kg - has almost equal to that which I lift every day in my arms and carry over a three-storey house on the staircase to look after their backs. And I have no BIG strength. Sorry, I didn't define the analogy .. I mean't to say i have two Dachshunds around 3.9 kg .. and I carry them around like a handbag!

 

[Florrie]

The manhole cover at 7.56kg - has almost equal to that which I lift every day in my arms and carry over a three-storey house on the staircase to look after their backs. And I have no BIG strength.

My son weighed 4.5kg at birth...little porker lol. So another 3kg on top wouldn't be a major weight to lift. Heavy yes..but not overly so.

I reckon the police had to be mindful of health and safety.


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[mrazda71]

I wonder if the manhole cover was opened in front of the jury during the house visit. It would give them a good idea of how easy (or not) it was. I don't think 7.5kg is that heavy, but I don't suffer from MG. I reckon the difficulty for the police could be not having an appropriate tool to hand.

My 9 month old cockapoo puppy weighs 7.5 kg and it's nothing, really nothing.

 

[Cherwell]

I'm sure most of us routinely pick up and carry something that weighs more than 7kg every day.
A small child or dog. A vacuum cleaner. Bag of shopping.

 

[Duchy]

Hi Cheeseman and :welcome4:

agree re the lid of the pit...this seems to be the Defence's ace card so far...

Am really hoping it was either health and safety or that it had been stuck / glued in some way ( I dont mean actual glue, but some form of sticking agent ).

The only other avenue for the Pros ( if it wasnt H&S or glued ) is if IS could have had assistance.

OR....he sealed it after putting her body down there,

Hello all, can't remember if I have posted on this thread before but have been reading everything.

 

[MillyM]

I have been wondering about the whole driving - nervous driver - type of cars etc - situation.

Again, quoting from Helen's book, she talked about liking sporty cars and enjoying driving and never had a problem nipping round central London in her small car.
She then says that , for some reason, she began to buy larger cars and the joy and fun went out of driving and as a result she was not such a confident driver.
So Royston should have been a breeze, after central London traffic.

Which brings me to the Jeep. I wonder whose idea it was for her to buy this ?

Jamie in his evidence says that Helen bought the Jeep to give herself more confidence for driving in the countryside.
But which countryside was this exactly ?

We were told, from ISs evidence, that Helen's typical day was being on line, blogging and walking Boris.
I imagine she also did a bit of local shopping, but the shops are a 4 minute drive from the house and there is nothing difficult or countryside about the route.

As she did not like driving on motorways, visits to London were likely to be by train. Easier and faster anyway, even if she had not had a problem.
And we know that she did not drive to Broadstairs - so that would be trains or, if IS went with her, then he would drive. And IS also said it was not unheard of for Helen to take a taxi down to Broadstairs.

So nothing there that puts her on tricky country roads and the need for a Jeep.
Plus her preference was for smaller cars, which she enjoyed driving.



ETA
This is Jamie's evidence re Helen's driving

Helen wasn’t a confident driver, when I first came to know her she had a small Fiat 500. Moving into the countryside she struggled with confidence whilst driving and a few weeks before she went missing she got a large car, a White Jeep, to give her a little bit more confidence.

But, Helen had been living in Royston for three years by this time ( if we include the 6 months that Jamie says Helen stayed/lived with them in Bassingbourn ) and money was not a problem for the purchase of a new car.
So was this lack of confidence a new problem or did someone persuade her to buy the Jeep ?

Posted this before, which sort of answers the last part of your question:

Helen Bailey (@HelenEBailey) tweeted at 1:03 PM on Fri, Mar 04, 2016:
@ytimesmotoring @FIAT_UK @Jeep_UK Went to buy a Fiat 500X after owning Fiat 500. Test drove both. Bought Jeep. Love it. Has character!

twitter.com/HelenEBailey/status/705740517796093952

 

[Joely 123]

Alyce everyone thought and knew Helen and Boris would be together - together always, wherever they were.
Emotionally, I want to say Boris was MORE loved than anyone else in the Hartwell Lodge. And within three months Helen would have taken Boris to have his nails clipped (unless she did this herself, which is quite tricky with only one person. The Police didm't spend time going down this route later because they had got their man - but ought to have done so when Helen was missing.

 

[Duchy]

Too careful to throw out soiled duvets? There is such a thing as dry cleaning, depending how expensive the duvets were. Inexpensive duvets can be washed.

Sorry meant to include a quote about Helen being careful with money.

 

[Alyce]

There are lots of ways with levers, etc to move something without lifting. I recently dragged an extremely heavy object a good distance by slowly working a piece of carpet under it


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That's very true. He didn't have to actually lift it as such, just lever it upwards to the angle at which momentum would then make it topple backwards

 

[Alyce]

OR....he sealed it after putting her body down there,

Hello all, can't remember if I have posted on this thread before but have been reading everything.

Sorry, that was me typing too fast as usual and condensing my words. I meant that I thought IS had stuck it down in some way, which then caused the police to have problems with trying to * jimmy it * open on their first go.

 

[Alyce]

Posted this before, which sort of answers the last part of your question:

Ah, thanks for that Milly. So does look as though the choice was all Helen's and no coercion from IS.

 

[Alyce]

Too careful to throw out soiled duvets? There is such a thing as dry cleaning, depending how expensive the duvets were. Inexpensive duvets can be washed.

Sorry meant to include a quote about Helen being careful with money.

Doesn't add up does it..... IS mentions having thrown out 3 or 4 duvets.... must have been some very heavy duty soiling of duvets going on in that house. In my experience, the duvet cover ususally takes the brunt of any mess and if it does seep down to the duvet itself, there are cleaning methods available as you say.

 

[Florrie]

I throw out around 3 cheap duvets a year but that's because my son is a bedwetter. I can't imagine any other reason for throwing the, out.


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[mrazda71]

Doesn't add up does it..... IS mentions having thrown out 3 or 4 duvets.... must have been some very heavy duty soiling of duvets going on in that house. In my experience, the duvet cover ususally takes the brunt of any mess and if it does seep down to the duvet itself, there are cleaning methods available as you say.

To be blunt - gastro health issues can sometimes result in diarrhea and fecal incontinence.

I'd be throwing them out too!

 

[Duchy]

To be blunt - gastro health issues can sometimes result in diarrhea and fecal incontinence.

I'd be throwing them out too!

Gorgeous grey haired widower?