1 00:00:01,363 --> 00:00:03,443 [gentle music] 2 00:00:03,523 --> 00:00:07,443 ♪ A thousand ways to die ♪ 3 00:00:07,523 --> 00:00:09,443 [Operator Voiceover] Hertfordshire Police, how can I help? 4 00:00:09,523 --> 00:00:13,043 [Ian Voiceover] Hello there, my partner has been missing since Monday... 5 00:00:13,123 --> 00:00:15,123 [narrator] On April 15th, 2016, 6 00:00:15,203 --> 00:00:19,603 Ian Stewart calls the police to report that his fiancée Helen is missing. 7 00:00:19,683 --> 00:00:22,563 [Ian voiceover] She said, "I need space and time alone. 8 00:00:22,643 --> 00:00:24,363 Please don't contact me in any way." 9 00:00:24,443 --> 00:00:26,643 I've never done one of these videos before. 10 00:00:26,723 --> 00:00:30,283 I thought I'd try it because it would be a fun, new thing to do. 11 00:00:30,363 --> 00:00:33,563 Helen didn't choose Ian, he chose Helen. 12 00:00:33,643 --> 00:00:35,603 I thought at that stage, she was just walking the dog 13 00:00:35,683 --> 00:00:36,683 or with the neighbors. 14 00:00:36,763 --> 00:00:40,843 ♪ Cast me into the sky ♪ 15 00:00:40,923 --> 00:00:45,323 [narrator] Six years earlier, Ian Stewart had made another 999 call, 16 00:00:45,683 --> 00:00:48,203 saying his wife, Diane, has collapsed. 17 00:00:49,283 --> 00:00:52,123 [Ian Voiceover] My wife's had a fit. I think she, she's in the garden. 18 00:00:52,203 --> 00:00:54,323 [Operator Voiceover] Okay, right, you need to slow down. 19 00:00:54,403 --> 00:00:56,483 I just thought it was a terrible tragedy. 20 00:00:56,563 --> 00:00:58,003 [Ian Voiceover] She's unconscious. 21 00:00:58,443 --> 00:01:00,323 [narrator] Ian Stewart appears to have been 22 00:01:00,403 --> 00:01:02,963 tragically unlucky in love. 23 00:01:03,043 --> 00:01:05,083 [detective] You're the last person to see her alive. 24 00:01:05,163 --> 00:01:07,203 [Beep] what a load of [beep]. 25 00:01:07,643 --> 00:01:10,363 [narrator] But is it something other than luck? 26 00:01:10,523 --> 00:01:11,963 [gentle upbeat music] 27 00:01:12,043 --> 00:01:15,403 ♪ Make me hold your eyes ♪ 28 00:01:15,483 --> 00:01:18,483 ♪ Cripple me inside ♪ 29 00:01:20,283 --> 00:01:22,283 [ominous music] 30 00:01:24,323 --> 00:01:27,083 [dramatic music] 31 00:01:28,243 --> 00:01:30,043 [birds chirping] 32 00:01:30,123 --> 00:01:31,683 [gentle music] 33 00:01:31,763 --> 00:01:34,803 [narrator] It's a postcard perfect village of Middle England, 34 00:01:34,883 --> 00:01:37,683 the quiet click of bowls on the village green. 35 00:01:37,923 --> 00:01:40,723 In the pretty village of Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire, 36 00:01:40,803 --> 00:01:43,243 Ian Stewart and his family have become key members 37 00:01:43,323 --> 00:01:44,443 of the village team. 38 00:01:45,443 --> 00:01:47,043 [man] Well, they looked like a model family. 39 00:01:47,123 --> 00:01:49,323 I would've thought, perfect, you know, 40 00:01:49,403 --> 00:01:53,083 they didn't seem to have any money worries that I knew of. 41 00:01:53,163 --> 00:01:56,323 They got a beautiful house, which they'd sort of partly built themselves, 42 00:01:56,403 --> 00:01:58,203 opposite the church in Bassingbourn. 43 00:01:58,923 --> 00:02:00,923 So I was the club captain. 44 00:02:01,403 --> 00:02:03,763 [dramatic music] 45 00:02:03,843 --> 00:02:07,243 We were pretty short of members and we had a new member come along. 46 00:02:07,323 --> 00:02:10,603 It was Ian Stewart, and duly joined the club 47 00:02:10,682 --> 00:02:12,403 and got heavily involved 48 00:02:12,483 --> 00:02:15,283 and ended up, in no short order of time, 49 00:02:15,363 --> 00:02:17,323 being the actual treasurer of the club. 50 00:02:17,403 --> 00:02:20,523 [dramatic music] 51 00:02:21,883 --> 00:02:25,283 Shortly after that, his wife Diane came along. 52 00:02:25,363 --> 00:02:26,883 She was playing a bit, 53 00:02:26,963 --> 00:02:28,563 but also being there and helping 54 00:02:28,643 --> 00:02:32,043 with doing the food preparations and whatever for matches. 55 00:02:32,123 --> 00:02:35,243 And then obviously they got the two young boys at the time. 56 00:02:35,323 --> 00:02:37,443 And it was probably before the year 2000 57 00:02:37,523 --> 00:02:39,723 that the whole family was involved, 58 00:02:39,803 --> 00:02:41,323 which we desperately needed, 59 00:02:41,403 --> 00:02:44,563 'cause like all the village clubs we were short of membership. 60 00:02:44,643 --> 00:02:46,963 So they were a pretty close-knit unit. 61 00:02:47,043 --> 00:02:50,523 [narrator] Ian is soon known as someone who prepares meticulously. 62 00:02:50,603 --> 00:02:52,483 He was also a really keen bowler. 63 00:02:52,563 --> 00:02:54,083 I mean, when he started bowling, 64 00:02:54,483 --> 00:02:57,283 he would be up there practicing and his lads would be up there with him, 65 00:02:57,363 --> 00:02:59,523 when they were available as well, because the club, 66 00:02:59,603 --> 00:03:02,203 there's nobody using it all day, every day virtually. 67 00:03:02,283 --> 00:03:05,483 So it was unlimited practice if you're keen enough to want to do it. 68 00:03:05,563 --> 00:03:08,043 But yeah, Ian didn't take any persuading. 69 00:03:08,123 --> 00:03:10,203 [gentle upbeat music] 70 00:03:10,283 --> 00:03:14,443 Within a year or two, he was obviously a first choice pick 71 00:03:14,523 --> 00:03:16,443 for the top team in the club. 72 00:03:17,283 --> 00:03:20,043 [Narrator] Crown green bowling looks like a gentle game, 73 00:03:20,123 --> 00:03:22,803 but the new treasurer can display a steely side 74 00:03:22,883 --> 00:03:23,963 to his personality. 75 00:03:24,043 --> 00:03:25,003 [dramatic music] 76 00:03:25,083 --> 00:03:27,043 [Bill] When you're playing at a reasonable level, 77 00:03:27,123 --> 00:03:28,003 you're playing to win. 78 00:03:28,083 --> 00:03:30,843 Ferocious competitor, he really played to win 79 00:03:30,923 --> 00:03:35,603 and he expected his boys and his wife to do the same. 80 00:03:35,683 --> 00:03:39,723 [Narrator] Ian's wife is also a popular and active member of the club. 81 00:03:39,803 --> 00:03:42,243 Fellow members have no reason to think 82 00:03:42,323 --> 00:03:45,123 that Diane has any problems with her health. 83 00:03:45,203 --> 00:03:46,963 [dramatic music] 84 00:03:47,043 --> 00:03:49,923 That's why Bill Manley is so shocked 85 00:03:50,003 --> 00:03:52,563 when he hears terrible news. 86 00:03:52,643 --> 00:03:55,043 [dramatic music] 87 00:03:55,123 --> 00:03:57,083 "Diane Stewart dropped down dead today." 88 00:03:57,163 --> 00:04:00,163 [dramatic music] 89 00:04:00,243 --> 00:04:01,923 [Narrator] The village can barely believe it 90 00:04:02,003 --> 00:04:03,523 when they hear how Ian Stewart 91 00:04:03,603 --> 00:04:06,683 has found Diane collapsed in their garden. 92 00:04:06,763 --> 00:04:09,603 [dramatic music] 93 00:04:10,723 --> 00:04:14,963 It was an epileptic seizure, which at the time, again, 94 00:04:15,043 --> 00:04:16,963 we just thought this is just one of those things 95 00:04:17,043 --> 00:04:18,723 that comes along and smacks you in the mouth 96 00:04:18,803 --> 00:04:21,763 when you think life's all nice and sorted and it's perfect, 97 00:04:21,843 --> 00:04:23,923 and this, something like this comes along. 98 00:04:24,003 --> 00:04:27,923 And nobody had any knowledge that was anything wrong with her. 99 00:04:28,003 --> 00:04:30,083 So it was a complete bombshell. 100 00:04:30,163 --> 00:04:31,043 [dramatic music] 101 00:04:31,123 --> 00:04:31,963 [birds chirping] 102 00:04:32,043 --> 00:04:33,923 [gentle music] 103 00:04:34,003 --> 00:04:35,443 [Narrator] In February, 2011, 104 00:04:35,523 --> 00:04:37,763 Helen Bailey, a successful children's author 105 00:04:37,843 --> 00:04:41,523 is about to find her life torn apart by tragedy. 106 00:04:41,603 --> 00:04:43,883 She has been with her husband John for 22 years. 107 00:04:44,323 --> 00:04:47,323 One day Helen will meet Mavis Drake. 108 00:04:47,403 --> 00:04:51,203 Helen was effervescent, bright, breezy, 109 00:04:51,283 --> 00:04:54,963 slim, tall, attractive, full of talk. 110 00:04:55,043 --> 00:04:56,203 [gentle music] 111 00:04:56,283 --> 00:04:58,643 [Narrator] Helen and John married in 1996. 112 00:04:58,723 --> 00:05:00,883 The couple don't have children. 113 00:05:00,963 --> 00:05:04,123 She dotes on the couple's little dog, Boris. 114 00:05:04,203 --> 00:05:06,963 [Mavis] She was wary about bringing Boris to the house. 115 00:05:07,043 --> 00:05:09,163 And I said, no, it's fine, I've had a dog. 116 00:05:09,243 --> 00:05:11,683 So very, very thoughtful about other people. 117 00:05:11,763 --> 00:05:14,883 And she'd just pop in whenever she felt like it. 118 00:05:14,963 --> 00:05:18,643 We'd been out walking Boris, coming back from the town. 119 00:05:18,723 --> 00:05:21,483 And so it was a lovely, easy friendship. 120 00:05:21,883 --> 00:05:23,483 [gentle music] 121 00:05:23,563 --> 00:05:26,483 Boris was the nearest thing to a human child 122 00:05:26,563 --> 00:05:27,563 that she could have, 123 00:05:27,643 --> 00:05:30,123 and particularly because he wasn't a great big dog, 124 00:05:30,203 --> 00:05:32,443 he's a small little Dachshund. 125 00:05:32,523 --> 00:05:34,643 And so she could pick it up and cuddle it. 126 00:05:34,723 --> 00:05:35,763 [gentle music] 127 00:05:35,843 --> 00:05:37,083 [Narrator] Successful as a writer, 128 00:05:37,163 --> 00:05:40,323 devoted to her dog, living the good life with John. 129 00:05:41,683 --> 00:05:44,123 Her marriage was incredibly successful, happy. 130 00:05:45,163 --> 00:05:46,603 [dramatic music] 131 00:05:46,683 --> 00:05:49,923 [Narrator] Then without warning, Helen's world changes forever. 132 00:05:50,003 --> 00:05:52,043 [dramatic music] 133 00:05:52,123 --> 00:05:54,763 Helen loses her husband, John. 134 00:05:54,843 --> 00:05:57,363 [dramatic music] 135 00:05:57,443 --> 00:05:59,323 They were on holiday in Barbados 136 00:05:59,403 --> 00:06:02,083 and he gets taken out by a riptide. 137 00:06:03,203 --> 00:06:07,523 He went into the sea for a swim, against my advice, 138 00:06:07,603 --> 00:06:10,003 and he got caught in a rip current and drowned. 139 00:06:12,323 --> 00:06:14,403 [Jill] She started off breakfast as a wife, 140 00:06:14,483 --> 00:06:16,203 and by lunch time she was a widow. 141 00:06:16,283 --> 00:06:19,283 And she lost her husband in tragic, tragic circumstances. 142 00:06:19,363 --> 00:06:20,403 [waves crashing] 143 00:06:20,483 --> 00:06:23,003 The absolute shock of that, being abroad as well, 144 00:06:23,083 --> 00:06:24,643 when you're dealing with that, 145 00:06:24,723 --> 00:06:28,683 I can't imagine the trauma that that would've affected her. 146 00:06:28,763 --> 00:06:31,603 I think it really impacted Helen, 147 00:06:31,683 --> 00:06:34,603 who was a very kind and compassionate 148 00:06:34,683 --> 00:06:38,163 and happy, gregarious person. 149 00:06:38,243 --> 00:06:40,563 And suddenly to find herself on her own, 150 00:06:40,643 --> 00:06:42,203 she really missed her husband 151 00:06:42,283 --> 00:06:46,403 and she really missed the role that he had in her life. 152 00:06:46,483 --> 00:06:48,843 [Narrator] In an attempt to ease her grief, 153 00:06:48,923 --> 00:06:51,003 Helen writes, what will become a bestseller, 154 00:06:51,083 --> 00:06:54,003 "When Bad Things Happen In Good Bikinis." 155 00:06:54,083 --> 00:06:56,243 About what it's like to lose the person 156 00:06:56,323 --> 00:06:58,843 you thought you'd spend the rest of your life with, 157 00:06:58,923 --> 00:06:59,963 quite so suddenly. 158 00:07:00,043 --> 00:07:00,883 [waves crashing] 159 00:07:00,963 --> 00:07:05,203 Helen was a writer and that was the way that she expressed herself. 160 00:07:05,283 --> 00:07:07,163 And so it was a kind of natural 161 00:07:07,243 --> 00:07:09,043 that she would start writing about 162 00:07:09,123 --> 00:07:11,643 how she was feeling about the death of her husband. 163 00:07:11,723 --> 00:07:14,483 [Narrator] In an attempt to come to terms with her loss, 164 00:07:14,563 --> 00:07:16,683 Helen also begins to reach out online 165 00:07:16,763 --> 00:07:19,683 to others who have gone through similar experiences. 166 00:07:19,763 --> 00:07:21,283 And I found myself completely 167 00:07:21,363 --> 00:07:25,323 and utterly shut down with grief, I couldn't write anything. 168 00:07:25,403 --> 00:07:26,683 So I turned to blogging. 169 00:07:26,763 --> 00:07:27,763 [dramatic music] 170 00:07:27,843 --> 00:07:30,243 That put her in contact with lots of other people 171 00:07:30,323 --> 00:07:33,163 and she was in a group, a community of people 172 00:07:33,243 --> 00:07:34,763 who were bereaved 173 00:07:34,843 --> 00:07:37,203 and were perhaps looking for new friendships. 174 00:07:37,283 --> 00:07:40,363 And within the blog, she was talking about the grieving process 175 00:07:40,443 --> 00:07:41,803 and she gave quite clear examples 176 00:07:41,883 --> 00:07:44,723 of how much she was grieving and missed her husband. 177 00:07:44,803 --> 00:07:46,483 Buying a single scotch egg, 178 00:07:46,563 --> 00:07:49,603 pulling the wheelie bin out at night on my own, 179 00:07:49,683 --> 00:07:52,123 going to parties as a single person, 180 00:07:52,203 --> 00:07:54,163 that I hadn't done for 25 years. 181 00:07:54,243 --> 00:07:58,483 And it was on this blog where she met Ian. 182 00:07:58,563 --> 00:08:01,683 [dramatic music] 183 00:08:04,163 --> 00:08:08,843 [Narrator] Helen discovers that Ian has also lost a partner unexpectedly. 184 00:08:08,923 --> 00:08:12,883 Ian, who lost his wife, who had an epileptic seizure 185 00:08:12,963 --> 00:08:14,403 whilst out in the garden. 186 00:08:14,483 --> 00:08:16,203 That was sudden, that was quick. 187 00:08:16,283 --> 00:08:19,043 So again, you've got some similarities, some bonding. 188 00:08:19,123 --> 00:08:20,523 [gentle music] 189 00:08:20,603 --> 00:08:23,403 You've got people who've lost their partners 190 00:08:23,483 --> 00:08:26,363 very suddenly, very quickly, very unexpectedly. 191 00:08:26,443 --> 00:08:31,283 So there's a real bond there between Ian and Helen at that point. 192 00:08:31,363 --> 00:08:35,043 Both tragic, quick, unexpected incidents 193 00:08:35,123 --> 00:08:37,443 that leaves both the people 194 00:08:37,523 --> 00:08:41,563 they leave behind bereft, grieving and suffering. 195 00:08:41,643 --> 00:08:43,082 [dramatic music] 196 00:08:43,163 --> 00:08:45,523 [Narrator] Their mutual loss brings the two together. 197 00:08:45,603 --> 00:08:47,963 Seven months after Helen loses her husband, 198 00:08:48,043 --> 00:08:50,563 she begins telling friends online about Ian, 199 00:08:50,643 --> 00:08:53,803 the new man she calls her gorgeous gray-haired widower. 200 00:08:53,883 --> 00:08:55,643 [dramatic music] 201 00:08:55,723 --> 00:09:00,003 He came across as an incredibly nice man 202 00:09:00,083 --> 00:09:01,683 and passionate and kind. 203 00:09:01,763 --> 00:09:06,043 And he had told her that he had been bereaved. 204 00:09:06,123 --> 00:09:09,843 They shared that and they started talking. 205 00:09:09,923 --> 00:09:11,763 [dramatic music] 206 00:09:11,843 --> 00:09:14,043 [Jill] She immediately describes him to her friends. 207 00:09:14,123 --> 00:09:15,843 "He's this great guy." 208 00:09:15,923 --> 00:09:19,083 Within quite a short period of time of losing her first husband. 209 00:09:19,163 --> 00:09:20,683 [dramatic music] 210 00:09:20,763 --> 00:09:23,483 [Narrator] At first, Ian and Helen only talk online, 211 00:09:23,563 --> 00:09:27,363 but Ian soon shows how keen he is to meet her in person. 212 00:09:27,443 --> 00:09:28,763 [car engines revving] 213 00:09:28,843 --> 00:09:33,563 Ian was the only one who found out where she lived 214 00:09:33,643 --> 00:09:35,323 and went to her house. 215 00:09:35,403 --> 00:09:38,683 He must have had a certain charisma for women 216 00:09:38,763 --> 00:09:42,683 because he didn't seem to have any trouble attracting the women. 217 00:09:42,763 --> 00:09:45,323 Like Diane, his first wife. 218 00:09:45,403 --> 00:09:46,723 [gentle music] 219 00:09:46,803 --> 00:09:51,163 Helen said to me that it wasn't on the rebound at all, 220 00:09:51,243 --> 00:09:53,563 that Ian made her laugh. 221 00:09:53,643 --> 00:09:56,123 [gentle music] 222 00:09:56,203 --> 00:09:59,003 [waves crashing] 223 00:09:59,123 --> 00:10:01,923 [dramatic music] 224 00:10:02,403 --> 00:10:04,203 [Narrator] The romance takes off 225 00:10:04,283 --> 00:10:07,723 as Ian offers to drive Helen down to her holiday home 226 00:10:07,803 --> 00:10:09,563 on the Kent coast. 227 00:10:09,643 --> 00:10:11,043 They went down to Broadstairs 228 00:10:11,123 --> 00:10:14,043 and she said she got to know him on the car drive 229 00:10:14,123 --> 00:10:15,883 and he made her laugh. 230 00:10:15,963 --> 00:10:18,763 And she does like people who laugh. 231 00:10:18,843 --> 00:10:21,123 [dramatic music] 232 00:10:21,203 --> 00:10:23,203 [Jane] She was at a point in her life 233 00:10:23,283 --> 00:10:25,883 where she was lonely, she was vulnerable. 234 00:10:25,963 --> 00:10:27,723 And bearing in mind as well 235 00:10:27,803 --> 00:10:30,203 that Helen had had a very happy marriage, 236 00:10:30,283 --> 00:10:32,403 she hadn't had that kind of marriage 237 00:10:32,483 --> 00:10:34,643 where she would be looking out for these red flags 238 00:10:34,723 --> 00:10:36,723 and thinking, "I've got to be careful." 239 00:10:36,803 --> 00:10:38,443 [dramatic music] 240 00:10:38,523 --> 00:10:41,883 [Jill] "I've fallen for you and I wanna know so much about you. 241 00:10:41,963 --> 00:10:43,163 I admire you. 242 00:10:43,243 --> 00:10:45,483 You've made your own wealth, you're clever. 243 00:10:45,563 --> 00:10:48,523 Tell me all about your life. I can't believe I've met you. 244 00:10:48,603 --> 00:10:51,443 I cannot believe you are my perfect woman." 245 00:10:51,523 --> 00:10:53,683 And actually imagine being told that, 246 00:10:53,763 --> 00:10:56,763 especially, you know, you've recently been bereaved. 247 00:10:56,843 --> 00:10:59,163 [dramatic music] 248 00:10:59,243 --> 00:11:01,083 [Narrator] Ian also confides in Helen 249 00:11:01,163 --> 00:11:05,203 that he's had to learn to live with a serious long-term illness. 250 00:11:05,283 --> 00:11:07,923 He suffered from a condition called Myasthenia gravis, 251 00:11:08,003 --> 00:11:10,723 which is a muscle condition that makes his muscles weak. 252 00:11:10,803 --> 00:11:11,843 [dramatic music] 253 00:11:11,923 --> 00:11:15,523 [Bill] And if you stood him in a lineup with his former self, 254 00:11:15,603 --> 00:11:16,723 you would not recognize him. 255 00:11:16,803 --> 00:11:19,803 If there was five or six people there, you wouldn't know it's the same man. 256 00:11:19,883 --> 00:11:21,883 Unbelievable, the way it changed his, 257 00:11:21,963 --> 00:11:23,723 it sort of bloated his face. 258 00:11:24,243 --> 00:11:26,283 It was quite a shock to see him like it. 259 00:11:26,363 --> 00:11:27,883 I mean, I don't think you, 260 00:11:27,963 --> 00:11:30,283 nobody's putting that on, 261 00:11:30,363 --> 00:11:32,883 you know, it's really, really nasty. 262 00:11:33,323 --> 00:11:34,683 [Narrator] Ian tells Helen 263 00:11:34,763 --> 00:11:38,363 that his chronic medical condition means that he can no longer work. 264 00:11:38,443 --> 00:11:40,283 So whilst he's been this strong man, 265 00:11:40,363 --> 00:11:43,323 he's also telling her that he's also vulnerable. 266 00:11:43,403 --> 00:11:44,843 And from what we know about Helen, 267 00:11:44,923 --> 00:11:47,683 a kind, warm, lovely woman, she would want to help, 268 00:11:47,763 --> 00:11:49,163 she would want to look after 269 00:11:49,243 --> 00:11:50,843 and perhaps nurture that for Ian. 270 00:11:52,123 --> 00:11:54,163 [Narrator] Two years after they first meet 271 00:11:54,243 --> 00:11:57,323 Helen and Ian agree to set up home together. 272 00:11:57,403 --> 00:11:59,523 I saw Helen and Stewart. 273 00:11:59,603 --> 00:12:01,803 They were looking at the house 274 00:12:01,883 --> 00:12:04,923 and they actually had their arms around each other. 275 00:12:05,003 --> 00:12:07,963 [Narrator] Ian and his two sons, from his marriage to Diane, 276 00:12:08,043 --> 00:12:11,643 move into Helen's beautiful house in a gated community called Heathfield, 277 00:12:11,723 --> 00:12:14,123 with its own tennis court and swimming pool. 278 00:12:14,203 --> 00:12:17,683 [dramatic music] 279 00:12:17,763 --> 00:12:20,843 Well, the residents in Heathfield are absolutely wonderful people, 280 00:12:20,923 --> 00:12:23,283 and we are a very close knit community. 281 00:12:24,323 --> 00:12:27,803 [Narrator] Helen's property also has a large garage. 282 00:12:27,883 --> 00:12:30,883 And he bought this sports car, which I think was a bit tatty, 283 00:12:30,963 --> 00:12:33,843 but he must have thought it was special. 284 00:12:33,923 --> 00:12:35,323 [dramatic music] 285 00:12:35,403 --> 00:12:37,523 [Narrator] Ian starts to park his red sports car 286 00:12:37,603 --> 00:12:40,123 in the garage on top of a trap door 287 00:12:40,203 --> 00:12:43,003 leading to an outdoor septic tank. 288 00:12:43,083 --> 00:12:45,523 Helen is a popular figure in the community. 289 00:12:45,603 --> 00:12:48,843 Her new partner is more of an acquired taste. 290 00:12:48,923 --> 00:12:51,843 When Mavis calls around for a chat with Helen, 291 00:12:51,923 --> 00:12:54,363 Ian often makes himself scarce. 292 00:12:54,443 --> 00:12:57,723 So he'd opened the front door, show you into the room. 293 00:12:57,803 --> 00:13:01,043 But he never joined in the conversation, he didn't stay in the room. 294 00:13:01,883 --> 00:13:05,083 And I think he was sort of trying to make out he was busy, 295 00:13:05,163 --> 00:13:06,883 but I don't think he did anything. 296 00:13:06,963 --> 00:13:09,443 [Narrator] Despite having fallen in love with Ian, 297 00:13:09,523 --> 00:13:11,803 Helen admits on her blog, Planet Grief, 298 00:13:11,883 --> 00:13:14,803 that there are some challenges in the new relationship. 299 00:13:14,883 --> 00:13:17,043 Even though Ian's muscle weakening disease 300 00:13:17,123 --> 00:13:20,523 means he can't work, he does still have a steady income. 301 00:13:20,603 --> 00:13:23,483 He was the director of a computer firm. 302 00:13:23,563 --> 00:13:26,283 And the directors took out an insurance policy 303 00:13:26,363 --> 00:13:27,643 if any of them were ill, 304 00:13:27,723 --> 00:13:30,723 so they'd get paid a fee every month, forever. 305 00:13:30,803 --> 00:13:33,643 [Narrator] Financially secure, living in a beautiful home, 306 00:13:33,723 --> 00:13:35,523 in a peaceful pretty village, 307 00:13:35,603 --> 00:13:37,603 life for Helen Bailey and Ian Stewart 308 00:13:37,683 --> 00:13:40,163 seems set for continued happiness. 309 00:13:40,243 --> 00:13:44,243 Once he's ill, doesn't work anymore, time on his hands, 310 00:13:44,323 --> 00:13:46,123 he wasn't a gardener. 311 00:13:46,203 --> 00:13:48,923 I don't believe he had any hobbies at all. 312 00:13:49,003 --> 00:13:50,763 [Narrator] With hours to fill every day, 313 00:13:50,843 --> 00:13:53,683 Ian starts to immerse himself in a fictional world 314 00:13:53,763 --> 00:13:55,083 of mystery and murder. 315 00:13:55,163 --> 00:14:00,123 He used to go to the library and take out 12 books at a time, 316 00:14:00,203 --> 00:14:02,603 and they were all of one genre, 317 00:14:03,683 --> 00:14:04,643 thrillers. 318 00:14:04,723 --> 00:14:06,803 [dramatic music] 319 00:14:06,883 --> 00:14:09,683 Thriller after thriller after thriller. 320 00:14:09,763 --> 00:14:12,603 [dramatic music] 321 00:14:18,723 --> 00:14:20,923 [Narrator] Helen Bailey's success as a writer 322 00:14:21,003 --> 00:14:23,363 means that she is comfortably off. 323 00:14:23,443 --> 00:14:24,523 [dramatic music] 324 00:14:24,603 --> 00:14:28,923 She never flaunted her wealth, but when you knew her lifestyle, 325 00:14:29,003 --> 00:14:33,003 you could think that she moved in the the right circles, 326 00:14:33,083 --> 00:14:34,963 the publishing world, the film world, 327 00:14:35,043 --> 00:14:37,483 all that kind of world, and had designer clothes. 328 00:14:37,563 --> 00:14:40,643 But she never flaunted any of that at all. 329 00:14:40,723 --> 00:14:43,363 She didn't flash jewelry around or anything like that. 330 00:14:43,643 --> 00:14:46,203 [Narrator] Helen and Ian, her partner of two years, 331 00:14:46,283 --> 00:14:47,563 enjoy their lifestyle. 332 00:14:47,643 --> 00:14:51,523 But after losing her first husband in a tragic, drowning accident, 333 00:14:51,603 --> 00:14:54,003 Helen knows just how fickle life can be. 334 00:14:54,083 --> 00:14:57,323 I think that her financial advisor 335 00:14:57,403 --> 00:15:00,843 told her that she must have a will in place, 336 00:15:00,923 --> 00:15:06,843 once she moved here with Ian and in case anything happened to her. 337 00:15:06,923 --> 00:15:08,563 [narrator] After her husband John died, 338 00:15:08,643 --> 00:15:11,523 Helen had made a will leaving her estate to her relatives. 339 00:15:11,603 --> 00:15:15,843 But now she asks her neighbor to witness a new version of the will. 340 00:15:15,923 --> 00:15:18,603 And so we signed this temporary will 341 00:15:19,043 --> 00:15:22,723 because she hadn't decided how to leave her estate. 342 00:15:22,803 --> 00:15:25,283 She'd got stepchildren, she got her brother 343 00:15:25,363 --> 00:15:27,483 and she'd got her mother and father alive. 344 00:15:29,043 --> 00:15:32,803 She did sort of let out that, as a temporary basis, 345 00:15:32,883 --> 00:15:34,083 it was all going to Ian. 346 00:15:36,443 --> 00:15:39,243 And I remember thinking, oh, you know, 347 00:15:39,323 --> 00:15:41,443 is that really wise to do that? 348 00:15:41,523 --> 00:15:43,723 [gentle upbeat music] 349 00:15:43,803 --> 00:15:45,963 She told me that they wanted to get married. 350 00:15:46,043 --> 00:15:48,323 She told me she was starting to look at venues 351 00:15:48,403 --> 00:15:52,283 and asked me if I knew any places around 352 00:15:52,363 --> 00:15:55,043 and she was starting the planning process. 353 00:15:55,123 --> 00:15:57,283 [gentle upbeat music] 354 00:15:57,363 --> 00:15:59,883 She wanted to get married, she wanted a big wedding 355 00:15:59,963 --> 00:16:01,403 with all the trimmings. 356 00:16:02,003 --> 00:16:05,123 And he seemed not the slightest bit interested. 357 00:16:05,203 --> 00:16:08,523 [narrator] Ever scarred by how fragile life can be, 358 00:16:08,603 --> 00:16:10,723 Helen takes measures to ensure that Ian, 359 00:16:10,803 --> 00:16:13,363 unable to work now because of his condition, 360 00:16:13,443 --> 00:16:15,003 will be looked after. 361 00:16:15,083 --> 00:16:17,123 She then takes out an insurance policy 362 00:16:17,203 --> 00:16:20,523 for up to £1.25 million because she doesn't want Ian 363 00:16:20,603 --> 00:16:23,523 to be financially vulnerable should anything happen to her. 364 00:16:23,603 --> 00:16:27,123 [narrator] In fact, it is Ian who shows signs of frailty. 365 00:16:27,203 --> 00:16:29,963 In January, 2016, he tells his doctor 366 00:16:30,043 --> 00:16:31,843 that he's having trouble sleeping. 367 00:16:31,923 --> 00:16:34,363 He is prescribed a powerful sedative. 368 00:16:34,443 --> 00:16:38,363 But then a month later, Helen notices a disturbing change 369 00:16:38,443 --> 00:16:39,723 in how she's feeling. 370 00:16:39,803 --> 00:16:41,683 She's commented to friends and family 371 00:16:41,763 --> 00:16:44,923 that she's feeling sleepy, she doesn't feel well. 372 00:16:45,003 --> 00:16:47,443 "Why do I feel so tired? Why do I feel like this?" 373 00:16:48,403 --> 00:16:50,643 [narrator] Her new and inexplicable sleepiness 374 00:16:50,723 --> 00:16:52,563 even begins to affect Helen's ability 375 00:16:52,643 --> 00:16:55,283 to look after her beloved dog, Boris. 376 00:16:55,363 --> 00:16:58,243 When she's out for a regular walk on the beach, 377 00:16:58,323 --> 00:17:00,283 she forgets to bring Boris home. 378 00:17:00,363 --> 00:17:01,683 She loved that dog. 379 00:17:01,763 --> 00:17:03,883 And yet here's a woman who, for some unknown reason, 380 00:17:03,963 --> 00:17:06,483 leaves her dog behind when she went out one day. 381 00:17:06,563 --> 00:17:08,723 Imagine how she's feeling right now. 382 00:17:08,803 --> 00:17:12,483 This fit, healthy woman is suddenly starting to feel unwell. 383 00:17:12,563 --> 00:17:13,923 How scared is she? 384 00:17:14,003 --> 00:17:16,483 And who's she gonna turn to for support and ask, 385 00:17:16,563 --> 00:17:19,283 "I don't feel well, I feel rubbish, what's happening to me?" 386 00:17:19,362 --> 00:17:21,563 It's gonna be her partner, it's going to be Ian. 387 00:17:21,642 --> 00:17:24,283 She's gonna be turning to him and say, "Why do I feel so unwell?" 388 00:17:25,362 --> 00:17:26,882 What's he likely to be saying? 389 00:17:26,963 --> 00:17:30,003 "Oh, don't worry, I'll look after you, I'll take care of you." 390 00:17:30,083 --> 00:17:31,723 How's he feeling at that point? 391 00:17:31,803 --> 00:17:34,523 He's feeling like his power is there. 392 00:17:35,803 --> 00:17:39,803 She's vulnerable, she's scared, he's there. 393 00:17:39,883 --> 00:17:40,763 [dramatic music] 394 00:17:40,843 --> 00:17:45,443 [Narrator] But on April 15th, 2016, she wasn't there. 395 00:17:45,523 --> 00:17:47,763 Ian Stewart calls the police 396 00:17:47,843 --> 00:17:51,403 to report that Helen has been missing for four days. 397 00:17:51,483 --> 00:17:54,683 [Ian Voiceover] Hello there, my partner has been missing since Monday... 398 00:17:54,763 --> 00:17:56,443 She left her car here. 399 00:17:56,523 --> 00:17:59,123 She did take her dog with her, she's got a little Dachshund. 400 00:17:59,203 --> 00:18:03,483 I knew on the Friday before anybody else in Royston did, 401 00:18:03,563 --> 00:18:07,963 because I saw the police cars come to the house. 402 00:18:08,043 --> 00:18:09,923 Very unusual happening. 403 00:18:10,003 --> 00:18:14,283 And a policeman came over and told me that she was missing. 404 00:18:14,363 --> 00:18:19,443 And the first thing I said, "Oh, my God, has she been abducted? 405 00:18:19,523 --> 00:18:22,443 It was my first thought that somebody had taken her away 406 00:18:22,523 --> 00:18:23,763 because she's famous. 407 00:18:24,803 --> 00:18:29,483 It was her brother who insisted that he call the police 408 00:18:29,563 --> 00:18:31,843 because he was trying to intimate 409 00:18:31,923 --> 00:18:34,043 that she'd gone off to Broadstairs 410 00:18:34,123 --> 00:18:37,123 and wanted to write a book, and she wanted peace and quiet. 411 00:18:37,203 --> 00:18:38,843 [Narrator] Ian tells the police 412 00:18:38,923 --> 00:18:42,243 that Helen has left a note asking for some space. 413 00:18:42,323 --> 00:18:43,603 Why would she need space? 414 00:18:43,683 --> 00:18:47,243 She's in a what we know to be a happy, healthy relationship with a man 415 00:18:47,323 --> 00:18:49,843 that she said she's gonna be with for the rest of her life. 416 00:18:49,923 --> 00:18:51,563 And yet one day, out of the blue, 417 00:18:51,643 --> 00:18:54,443 she's got up and left the house, saying she needs space. 418 00:18:54,523 --> 00:18:57,083 [Narrator] Ian says he thinks that Helen has gone with Boris 419 00:18:57,163 --> 00:18:59,483 down to their holiday cottage in Broadstairs. 420 00:18:59,563 --> 00:19:04,443 But no one has seen Helen or her dog there or anywhere else. 421 00:19:04,523 --> 00:19:08,083 The police visit Ian to ask about the day that she went missing. 422 00:19:08,163 --> 00:19:09,043 [birds chirping] 423 00:19:09,123 --> 00:19:11,283 [Policeman] We'd like you to take us through 424 00:19:11,363 --> 00:19:12,563 what happened that day. 425 00:19:12,643 --> 00:19:16,163 This is where I can't remember very well. I'll tell you what I can remember. 426 00:19:16,243 --> 00:19:18,803 [Narrator] Stewart explains that he'd been unwell 427 00:19:18,883 --> 00:19:20,803 and struggles to remember what he did 428 00:19:20,883 --> 00:19:22,203 the day that Helen disappeared. 429 00:19:22,283 --> 00:19:26,523 And then I don't remember much until I woke up in the chair in my office. 430 00:19:26,603 --> 00:19:30,003 And then, I'm not sure if this is right, I'm not sure this is right. 431 00:19:30,083 --> 00:19:32,763 At some point I saw the mail on my desk from Helen. 432 00:19:32,843 --> 00:19:36,243 [Narrator] Stewart tells the police that he has now thrown away the note. 433 00:19:36,323 --> 00:19:38,483 I'm pretty sure Helen waved goodbye to me. 434 00:19:38,563 --> 00:19:42,003 But when I think back, I'm not so sure. So maybe she did, maybe she didn't. 435 00:19:42,083 --> 00:19:44,483 [Narrator] Helen is normally an active presence 436 00:19:44,563 --> 00:19:45,843 on social media. 437 00:19:45,923 --> 00:19:48,723 But the police can find no sign of her online 438 00:19:48,803 --> 00:19:50,443 since her disappearance. 439 00:19:50,523 --> 00:19:53,123 And her mobile phone has been turned off. 440 00:19:53,203 --> 00:19:58,043 I can't believe it's been a month since my sister Helen disappeared. 441 00:19:58,123 --> 00:20:03,443 [Narrator] It is May 11th, 2016, four weeks after Ian reported her missing. 442 00:20:03,523 --> 00:20:07,163 Helen's brother John Bailey issues a public appeal for help. 443 00:20:07,243 --> 00:20:10,083 And as more time passes, since she was last seen, 444 00:20:10,163 --> 00:20:12,163 the more concerned we become. 445 00:20:14,483 --> 00:20:18,123 As you know, there is little information for the police to work on. 446 00:20:18,203 --> 00:20:19,643 [dramatic music] 447 00:20:19,723 --> 00:20:22,123 [Narrator] Mavis Drake is desperate for news. 448 00:20:22,203 --> 00:20:25,963 She wants to know where her friend is and asks Ian what's happening. 449 00:20:26,043 --> 00:20:28,283 Yes, I think I saw him over the fence 450 00:20:28,363 --> 00:20:32,363 and just said, "Any news? We're all rooting for you, Ian." 451 00:20:33,203 --> 00:20:34,923 You know, hoping for the best. 452 00:20:35,003 --> 00:20:36,923 [Narrator] Ian Stewart pays for flyers 453 00:20:37,003 --> 00:20:40,203 asking for information about Helen and her dog, Boris. 454 00:20:40,283 --> 00:20:43,723 And he posts a public loving message to Helen online. 455 00:20:43,803 --> 00:20:45,803 [dramatic music] 456 00:20:45,883 --> 00:20:48,003 ♪ I'll be your opponent ♪ 457 00:20:48,083 --> 00:20:53,083 ♪ If you'll let me take all your pieces apart ♪ 458 00:20:53,883 --> 00:20:58,883 ♪ It's dangerous playing with the heart of a woman ♪ 459 00:21:01,243 --> 00:21:04,243 [Narrator] But the police are beginning to pick up some clues 460 00:21:04,323 --> 00:21:07,563 which make them question Ian's version of events. 461 00:21:07,643 --> 00:21:11,443 They find that on April 11th, 2016, 462 00:21:11,523 --> 00:21:14,043 the same day that Ian says Helen disappeared, 463 00:21:14,123 --> 00:21:17,043 a monthly standing order from Helen's personal bank account 464 00:21:17,123 --> 00:21:19,243 to the account she shares with Ian 465 00:21:19,323 --> 00:21:23,883 is raised from £600 to £4,000. 466 00:21:23,963 --> 00:21:26,723 And when the police ask if they can examine his phone, 467 00:21:26,803 --> 00:21:29,483 Ian tells them it's disappeared. 468 00:21:29,563 --> 00:21:30,563 [Policeman] Any the new visitors, 469 00:21:30,643 --> 00:21:34,043 anyone introducing themselves into your life, 470 00:21:34,123 --> 00:21:39,123 either by telephone, or turning up at the house in person? 471 00:21:41,003 --> 00:21:45,123 Hmm, no one springs to mind at all, no. 472 00:21:45,203 --> 00:21:47,403 [Narrator] When Ian is questioned a second time, 473 00:21:47,483 --> 00:21:49,923 he continues to struggle to offer any information 474 00:21:50,003 --> 00:21:50,843 that might help. 475 00:21:50,923 --> 00:21:52,363 And then Stewart decides 476 00:21:52,443 --> 00:21:55,643 to stop cooperating with the police altogether. 477 00:21:55,723 --> 00:21:58,243 The police want to go and execute 478 00:21:58,323 --> 00:22:01,963 a further search warrant for the property and he refuses. 479 00:22:02,843 --> 00:22:04,643 I wonder why he's refusing. 480 00:22:04,723 --> 00:22:06,763 Maybe that was the first time he thought, 481 00:22:07,123 --> 00:22:10,043 "Oh, this isn't going the way I planned." 482 00:22:10,123 --> 00:22:12,563 [dramatic music] 483 00:22:12,643 --> 00:22:14,163 [Narrator] The police discover Ian Stewart 484 00:22:14,243 --> 00:22:17,443 has left the country for a two-week holiday to Spain. 485 00:22:17,523 --> 00:22:20,683 [dramatic music] 486 00:22:20,763 --> 00:22:23,363 That's the sign for me that the real Ian is starting to show. 487 00:22:23,443 --> 00:22:27,523 That mask of being the perfect guy, just all starting to slip down now. 488 00:22:27,603 --> 00:22:30,323 We're actually seeing the real Ian, the real Ian at work. 489 00:22:30,403 --> 00:22:32,723 [Narrator] Detectives' suspicions are hardened 490 00:22:32,803 --> 00:22:36,083 by the lack of any evidence that Helen is still alive. 491 00:22:36,163 --> 00:22:39,843 If you go missing, you tend to show signs of activity. 492 00:22:39,923 --> 00:22:43,363 Mobile phones, bank cards, CCTV. 493 00:22:43,443 --> 00:22:46,603 The world is a place now that it's really hard to disappear. 494 00:22:46,683 --> 00:22:49,363 So we've got her go missing on the 11th of April 495 00:22:49,443 --> 00:22:51,323 and she has literally disappeared. 496 00:22:51,403 --> 00:22:52,323 [dramatic music] 497 00:22:52,403 --> 00:22:53,203 [car engines revving] 498 00:22:53,283 --> 00:22:55,123 And as the investigation's continued, 499 00:22:55,203 --> 00:22:58,363 there isn't any apparent signs of Helen being anywhere. 500 00:22:58,443 --> 00:23:00,043 You can see why this change 501 00:23:00,123 --> 00:23:02,203 from being a missing person's investigation 502 00:23:02,283 --> 00:23:03,563 to murder investigation. 503 00:23:03,643 --> 00:23:04,483 [dramatic music] 504 00:23:04,563 --> 00:23:07,123 I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Helen Bailey. 505 00:23:07,203 --> 00:23:08,043 You're joking! 506 00:23:08,123 --> 00:23:09,883 [dramatic music] 507 00:23:09,963 --> 00:23:12,923 [Narrator] There's a problem with the decision to arrest Ian Stewart. 508 00:23:13,003 --> 00:23:16,683 If Helen has been murdered, where is her body? 509 00:23:16,763 --> 00:23:18,723 Why? I don't understand. 510 00:23:20,763 --> 00:23:22,203 What's happened? 511 00:23:22,283 --> 00:23:23,363 Have you found Helen? 512 00:23:23,443 --> 00:23:24,443 [dramatic music] 513 00:23:24,523 --> 00:23:26,483 [Narrator] Might she be alive? 514 00:23:26,563 --> 00:23:28,003 [dramatic music] 515 00:23:36,523 --> 00:23:38,843 [Detective] You're the last person to see her alive. 516 00:23:38,923 --> 00:23:41,163 You wait four days to report her missing. 517 00:23:41,243 --> 00:23:42,683 [Narrator] Ian Stewart has been arrested 518 00:23:42,763 --> 00:23:45,363 for the suspected murder of his fiancé, Helen Bailey. 519 00:23:45,803 --> 00:23:47,283 But the police have a problem. 520 00:23:47,363 --> 00:23:51,283 Despite extensive searches, they still can't find her body. 521 00:23:51,363 --> 00:23:53,283 And Ian Stewart isn't talking. 522 00:23:53,363 --> 00:23:56,003 [Detective] You're vague about your movements on 11th, 523 00:23:56,083 --> 00:23:57,563 at best vague. 524 00:23:57,643 --> 00:23:58,963 [dramatic music] 525 00:23:59,043 --> 00:24:01,803 [Narrator] But by now the village is alive with gossip. 526 00:24:01,883 --> 00:24:03,203 Since Helen's disappearance, 527 00:24:03,283 --> 00:24:06,523 there have been no sightings of her or her dog, Boris, 528 00:24:06,603 --> 00:24:08,923 which normally never leaves her side. 529 00:24:09,003 --> 00:24:12,163 Police carry out an extensive search of a local Heath 530 00:24:12,243 --> 00:24:14,243 in the surrounding countryside. 531 00:24:14,323 --> 00:24:16,083 [dramatic music] 532 00:24:16,163 --> 00:24:18,683 Neighbor Mavis Drake, a close friend of Helen's 533 00:24:18,763 --> 00:24:20,883 is desperate for news. 534 00:24:20,963 --> 00:24:26,323 That was the obvious thought that she could have fallen down in a crevice, 535 00:24:26,403 --> 00:24:28,963 in the woods or something like that. 536 00:24:29,043 --> 00:24:31,923 And so people would look in the woods. 537 00:24:32,003 --> 00:24:36,403 And also they started to look for Boris, a dog missing. 538 00:24:36,483 --> 00:24:40,843 Again on the Heath, everybody started talking about it. 539 00:24:40,923 --> 00:24:41,763 [dramatic music] 540 00:24:41,843 --> 00:24:43,803 [Narrator] The police continue to question Stewart. 541 00:24:43,883 --> 00:24:45,363 He's not being cooperative. 542 00:24:45,443 --> 00:24:47,843 But they now find what they believe could be 543 00:24:47,923 --> 00:24:49,563 his motive for murder. 544 00:24:49,643 --> 00:24:53,043 [Detective] There is transactions where it clearly shows, from what I've seen, 545 00:24:53,123 --> 00:24:55,283 that you have taken money or someone has taking money, 546 00:24:55,363 --> 00:24:56,523 which I believe to be you, 547 00:24:56,603 --> 00:24:58,363 from her account into your joint account, 548 00:24:58,443 --> 00:25:00,163 which you have, obviously, access to. 549 00:25:00,243 --> 00:25:03,243 You will have benefited from her death, is that correct? 550 00:25:03,323 --> 00:25:04,323 [dramatic music] 551 00:25:04,403 --> 00:25:07,803 [Narrator] But without a confession and no evidence that Helen has been murdered, 552 00:25:07,883 --> 00:25:11,123 the police have to release Ian Stewart on bail. 553 00:25:12,443 --> 00:25:14,683 They had searched everywhere else, 554 00:25:14,763 --> 00:25:17,283 appeared to be searching the Heath everywhere. 555 00:25:17,363 --> 00:25:20,963 They had sniffer dogs and all dressed up 556 00:25:21,043 --> 00:25:24,243 in their white forensic outfits and things. 557 00:25:25,483 --> 00:25:28,483 [Narrator] The police can still find no trace of Helen 558 00:25:28,563 --> 00:25:30,923 and begin to scale down their search. 559 00:25:31,843 --> 00:25:33,523 [dramatic music] 560 00:25:33,603 --> 00:25:36,403 Then her neighbor Mavis, decides to intervene 561 00:25:36,483 --> 00:25:39,483 to make sure that they've checked the property properly. 562 00:25:39,563 --> 00:25:41,803 It was a stroke of fortune 563 00:25:41,883 --> 00:25:45,523 that I decided to go to the police 564 00:25:46,403 --> 00:25:50,563 and interfere with their search, really, 565 00:25:50,643 --> 00:25:54,123 to say to them, "You know about the well?" 566 00:25:54,203 --> 00:25:56,163 [dramatic music] 567 00:25:56,243 --> 00:25:58,003 [Narrator] The police hadn't realized 568 00:25:58,083 --> 00:26:00,403 that there is a second cesspit or a well 569 00:26:00,483 --> 00:26:01,763 which can only be accessed 570 00:26:01,843 --> 00:26:05,283 through a hidden trap door in the garage. 571 00:26:05,363 --> 00:26:07,243 They had no idea 572 00:26:07,323 --> 00:26:11,243 that there was a bricked up well inside the garage, 573 00:26:11,323 --> 00:26:12,563 which had been covered over 574 00:26:12,643 --> 00:26:16,723 and Ian Stewart's red sports car was on top of it. 575 00:26:16,803 --> 00:26:18,163 [dramatic music] 576 00:26:18,243 --> 00:26:21,283 [Narrator] Acting on Mavis tip-off, the police move Ian's sports car 577 00:26:21,363 --> 00:26:23,203 and lift the hidden trap door. 578 00:26:23,283 --> 00:26:26,243 [dramatic music] 579 00:26:26,323 --> 00:26:28,003 They find Helen's body. 580 00:26:28,083 --> 00:26:32,883 Dumped beside her is the body of Boris, her much loved little dog. 581 00:26:32,963 --> 00:26:36,443 A pillow slip, a dog's toy and two bin bags 582 00:26:36,523 --> 00:26:38,523 are also found in the cesspit. 583 00:26:38,603 --> 00:26:40,603 [dramatic music] 584 00:26:40,683 --> 00:26:42,763 The cesspit in the house that Ian lives in, 585 00:26:42,843 --> 00:26:46,803 it shows you that Ian did not care, had no thought. 586 00:26:46,883 --> 00:26:49,003 It was about Ian getting his needs met. 587 00:26:49,083 --> 00:26:51,163 That was the priority, that was the focus. 588 00:26:51,243 --> 00:26:54,283 It didn't matter about Helen, she wasn't important. 589 00:26:54,363 --> 00:26:58,283 That was just a byproduct of him getting what he wanted. 590 00:26:58,363 --> 00:27:00,723 [dramatic music] 591 00:27:00,803 --> 00:27:03,723 From the garden, we could hear a big clap 592 00:27:03,803 --> 00:27:06,363 after Helen had been found and taken away, 593 00:27:06,443 --> 00:27:08,643 not while she was there, but afterwards, 594 00:27:08,723 --> 00:27:12,803 to thank the team for their work in discovering Helen 595 00:27:12,883 --> 00:27:15,723 and what they'd had to go through to see her. 596 00:27:15,803 --> 00:27:18,643 And I don't think that it would occur to anybody 597 00:27:18,723 --> 00:27:24,123 that anybody could put a human person and a dog 598 00:27:24,203 --> 00:27:25,963 in a world like that. 599 00:27:26,043 --> 00:27:27,283 [dramatic music] 600 00:27:27,363 --> 00:27:29,643 [Narrator] The forensic examination of Helen's body 601 00:27:29,723 --> 00:27:32,323 finds traces of sleeping tablets. 602 00:27:32,403 --> 00:27:35,843 But Helen hadn't been prescribed sleeping tablets. 603 00:27:35,923 --> 00:27:37,483 In January, 2016, 604 00:27:37,563 --> 00:27:39,683 four months before he reported Helen missing, 605 00:27:39,763 --> 00:27:42,083 it was Stewart who went to his doctor 606 00:27:42,163 --> 00:27:44,643 and was prescribed the same type of tablets 607 00:27:44,723 --> 00:27:46,643 now found in Helen's body. 608 00:27:46,723 --> 00:27:47,683 [dramatic music] 609 00:27:47,763 --> 00:27:50,283 So if you start giving somebody sleeping tablets 610 00:27:50,363 --> 00:27:53,683 and similar type drugs, over a period of four months, 611 00:27:53,763 --> 00:27:56,443 how are they feeling by month four? 612 00:27:56,523 --> 00:27:59,163 It's that drip, drip, drip effect 613 00:27:59,243 --> 00:28:01,243 of just wearing somebody down, 614 00:28:01,323 --> 00:28:04,003 giving them less room, giving them less voice, 615 00:28:04,083 --> 00:28:07,123 giving them less power, giving them less autonomy. 616 00:28:07,203 --> 00:28:10,443 [Narrator] The police discovered that in the weeks before she disappeared, 617 00:28:10,523 --> 00:28:13,163 Helen Bailey was searching desperately on the internet 618 00:28:13,243 --> 00:28:17,803 asking, "Why do I keep falling asleep? I'm so tired." 619 00:28:17,883 --> 00:28:19,563 His plan to get control of Helen 620 00:28:19,643 --> 00:28:22,163 would've started on day one. 621 00:28:22,243 --> 00:28:25,203 The point at which he started seriously planning the murder, 622 00:28:25,283 --> 00:28:27,123 he already had control over her, 623 00:28:27,203 --> 00:28:30,123 is when he started drugging her. 624 00:28:30,203 --> 00:28:33,203 [Narrator] Forensics also established the cause of death. 625 00:28:33,283 --> 00:28:36,763 Helen has been suffocated or strangled. 626 00:28:36,843 --> 00:28:39,523 The fact that she had been drugged with sleeping tablets 627 00:28:39,603 --> 00:28:41,723 may have left her unable to defend herself. 628 00:28:41,803 --> 00:28:44,963 If he's got this muscle condition, actually, is he a strong man? 629 00:28:45,043 --> 00:28:46,603 [dramatic music] 630 00:28:46,683 --> 00:28:49,003 If his method is to smother, 631 00:28:49,083 --> 00:28:52,643 then if a woman puts up a fight, he could actually lose. 632 00:28:52,723 --> 00:28:56,723 [Narrator] The police also have CCTV, captured the day that Helen disappeared, 633 00:28:56,803 --> 00:28:58,883 of Ian dumping a white duvet. 634 00:28:58,963 --> 00:29:02,283 They believe he's used the duvet to move Helen's body. 635 00:29:02,363 --> 00:29:04,283 Confronted with all of this new evidence, 636 00:29:04,363 --> 00:29:06,923 Ian Stewart comes up with a new story. 637 00:29:07,003 --> 00:29:09,523 Two men, a month before Helen went missing, 638 00:29:09,603 --> 00:29:12,243 came into the house unattended, uninvited 639 00:29:12,323 --> 00:29:14,443 and were threatening towards her, 640 00:29:14,523 --> 00:29:16,403 over some business transaction. 641 00:29:16,483 --> 00:29:20,283 All completely incredible, non-believable. 642 00:29:20,363 --> 00:29:23,843 But again, a sense perhaps of Ian's thinking 643 00:29:23,923 --> 00:29:26,923 that he can tell lies, everybody will believe him. 644 00:29:27,003 --> 00:29:29,283 Because let's face it, he's told lies previously. 645 00:29:29,363 --> 00:29:30,923 How did he get Helen convinced 646 00:29:31,003 --> 00:29:32,843 that he was the perfect man? He told lies. 647 00:29:32,923 --> 00:29:34,003 [dramatic music] 648 00:29:34,083 --> 00:29:35,763 [Narrator] One of those men implicated 649 00:29:35,843 --> 00:29:38,123 was a member of the Bassingbourn Bowls Club. 650 00:29:38,203 --> 00:29:39,043 [dramatic music] 651 00:29:39,123 --> 00:29:41,643 He maintained, these two men came to the door, 652 00:29:41,723 --> 00:29:43,963 he described them in great detail to the police 653 00:29:44,043 --> 00:29:45,523 who did sort of photo fits. 654 00:29:45,603 --> 00:29:47,243 And then people duly recognized 655 00:29:47,323 --> 00:29:49,243 that one was a near neighbor of his. 656 00:29:49,323 --> 00:29:51,283 And the other one was a very close acquaintance 657 00:29:51,363 --> 00:29:54,563 that he'd bowled with for 10 or 12 years. 658 00:29:54,643 --> 00:29:58,923 So both these people got called to give evidence to say, 659 00:29:59,003 --> 00:30:02,003 "Well, we didn't go to his house, we weren't there." 660 00:30:02,083 --> 00:30:04,363 And etcetera, etcetera. 661 00:30:04,443 --> 00:30:07,723 So he tried to, obviously, fabricate this story 662 00:30:07,803 --> 00:30:09,443 that these two strangers had come 663 00:30:09,523 --> 00:30:11,403 and then Helen had disappeared. 664 00:30:11,483 --> 00:30:12,723 [dramatic music] 665 00:30:12,803 --> 00:30:15,123 [narrator] Detectives disprove Stewart's story 666 00:30:15,203 --> 00:30:18,123 and he is charged with Helen Bailey's murder. 667 00:30:18,203 --> 00:30:22,003 On January 10th, 2017 at St Albans Crown Court, 668 00:30:22,083 --> 00:30:23,563 his trial begins. 669 00:30:23,643 --> 00:30:25,643 I attended the trial on the day 670 00:30:25,723 --> 00:30:29,003 that his defense barrister was summing up. 671 00:30:29,083 --> 00:30:32,483 And Ian would look over 672 00:30:32,563 --> 00:30:34,923 at the public gallery a lot. 673 00:30:35,003 --> 00:30:36,163 [dramatic music] 674 00:30:36,243 --> 00:30:38,643 He was there sitting, looking, 675 00:30:38,723 --> 00:30:42,883 actually looking very confident, not looking worried. 676 00:30:42,963 --> 00:30:44,643 [narrator] It was Helen's neighbor Mavis, 677 00:30:44,723 --> 00:30:45,843 who had directed the police 678 00:30:45,923 --> 00:30:48,683 to where Ian Stewart had dumped Helen's body. 679 00:30:48,763 --> 00:30:50,483 And I thought, he's gonna get away with this. 680 00:30:50,563 --> 00:30:52,803 There's no way that they're going to find him guilty. 681 00:30:52,883 --> 00:30:54,203 [dramatic music] 682 00:30:54,283 --> 00:30:56,323 [narrator] Ian Stewart's confidence is misplaced. 683 00:30:56,403 --> 00:30:59,683 On February 22nd, 2017, he is convicted of Helen's murder 684 00:30:59,763 --> 00:31:01,323 and given a whole life tariff. 685 00:31:02,283 --> 00:31:06,003 Once again, Ian Stewart is headline news. 686 00:31:06,083 --> 00:31:07,203 [dramatic music] 687 00:31:07,283 --> 00:31:08,763 There was coercive control, 688 00:31:08,843 --> 00:31:10,963 but it was the kind of control 689 00:31:11,043 --> 00:31:15,963 that wasn't playing out through, you know, visible violence. 690 00:31:16,043 --> 00:31:18,643 And that can be the most difficult control 691 00:31:18,723 --> 00:31:22,283 to identify or recognize, even for the victim. 692 00:31:22,363 --> 00:31:27,283 Helen, unfortunately, again, was on a countdown 693 00:31:27,363 --> 00:31:28,883 the day she met him. 694 00:31:29,443 --> 00:31:33,123 [narrator] News of Stewart's conviction reaches his former bowls buddies. 695 00:31:33,323 --> 00:31:34,803 [dramatic music] 696 00:31:34,883 --> 00:31:38,163 [Bill] We were sitting out there on the patio one Sunday afternoon 697 00:31:38,243 --> 00:31:41,283 and had the radio on and the news report came on, 698 00:31:41,363 --> 00:31:45,643 and we just both looked at each other, sort of stunned like that and went, 699 00:31:45,723 --> 00:31:47,843 and my wife said, "He's done them both." 700 00:31:52,443 --> 00:31:55,283 [dramatic music] 701 00:31:56,603 --> 00:31:58,443 [narrator] Bill Manley is not alone in thinking 702 00:31:58,523 --> 00:32:02,643 the death of Ian Stewart's wife Diane is suspicious. 703 00:32:02,723 --> 00:32:04,803 I said, well surely it's too much of coincidence 704 00:32:04,883 --> 00:32:07,443 that Diane has died of natural causes 705 00:32:07,523 --> 00:32:09,563 or something unconnected and now 706 00:32:09,643 --> 00:32:11,923 he's being prosecuted for murder. 707 00:32:12,003 --> 00:32:16,203 There's no way that can be unconnected, is there? 708 00:32:16,283 --> 00:32:19,123 So we thought it was gonna be a matter of time 709 00:32:19,203 --> 00:32:21,483 before they obviously reinvestigated Diane, 710 00:32:21,563 --> 00:32:24,283 but we didn't realize that anything could be done 711 00:32:24,363 --> 00:32:28,723 because we thought that she was just cremated and that was it. 712 00:32:28,803 --> 00:32:30,643 [Narrator] Diane Stewart had been an active, 713 00:32:30,723 --> 00:32:33,123 healthy 47-year-old mother of two. 714 00:32:33,203 --> 00:32:36,723 It was on June 25th, 2010, when everything changed. 715 00:32:36,803 --> 00:32:39,283 [Bill] Yeah, it was on a Friday, I think, I went to the green. 716 00:32:39,363 --> 00:32:41,443 There was a match being played up there. 717 00:32:41,523 --> 00:32:43,883 I went up there to check on something 718 00:32:43,963 --> 00:32:47,523 or put some notices up or whatever and saw the air ambulance 719 00:32:47,603 --> 00:32:49,203 and saw it going down up the other end, 720 00:32:49,283 --> 00:32:51,963 'cause I live the opposite end of the village. 721 00:32:52,043 --> 00:32:53,563 Saw the air ambulance going down, 722 00:32:53,643 --> 00:32:56,003 I thought, oh God, it looks like it's landing at the school, 723 00:32:56,083 --> 00:32:57,683 something's happened to one of the children. 724 00:32:58,803 --> 00:33:00,843 [Narrator] In fact, it was Diane who had died, 725 00:33:00,923 --> 00:33:03,443 apparently of an epileptic seizure. 726 00:33:03,523 --> 00:33:06,803 After that, Ian stopped going to the bowls club. 727 00:33:06,883 --> 00:33:10,563 Ian sort of made it like he didn't wanna play bowls anymore at the club, 728 00:33:10,643 --> 00:33:12,363 it was too many memories for him. 729 00:33:12,443 --> 00:33:13,403 [dramatic music] 730 00:33:13,483 --> 00:33:18,963 I saw him several times after that and obviously saw him at the funeral. 731 00:33:19,043 --> 00:33:21,043 Well, I've never seen a funeral like it, 732 00:33:21,123 --> 00:33:23,203 but you know, he was like greeting people at the door. 733 00:33:23,283 --> 00:33:26,483 The boys and Ian were there and saying, "Thanks for coming." And shaking hands. 734 00:33:26,563 --> 00:33:29,083 Which I'd never been to a funeral like that before. 735 00:33:29,163 --> 00:33:31,683 But he really distanced himself from the club. 736 00:33:31,763 --> 00:33:36,243 Like in no short order at all, he was gone, you know, 737 00:33:36,323 --> 00:33:39,283 he wasn't available, he wasn't answering his phone. 738 00:33:39,363 --> 00:33:41,723 He almost sort of disappeared in, you know, 739 00:33:41,803 --> 00:33:45,043 no short order, you know, weeks almost, 740 00:33:45,123 --> 00:33:47,763 he was unavailable, type of thing. 741 00:33:47,843 --> 00:33:50,963 [Narrator] In 2021, Ian Stewart's friends tell detectives 742 00:33:51,043 --> 00:33:52,483 as they reexamined the case, 743 00:33:52,563 --> 00:33:56,243 how he had tried to keep things normal for himself and his family. 744 00:33:56,323 --> 00:33:59,043 [Bill] You just think, it's the Englishman, stiff upper lip, 745 00:33:59,123 --> 00:34:01,323 putting a brave front on it 746 00:34:01,403 --> 00:34:04,323 and doing their grieving in private, if you like. 747 00:34:04,403 --> 00:34:06,483 [Narrator] However, locals did notice something 748 00:34:06,563 --> 00:34:08,242 which gave them pause. 749 00:34:08,323 --> 00:34:09,643 [Bill] Short time after that, 750 00:34:09,722 --> 00:34:12,923 he was seen with at least two different women, 751 00:34:13,003 --> 00:34:17,403 you know, in weeks, if not months after Diane passing. 752 00:34:17,483 --> 00:34:18,403 [dramatic music] 753 00:34:18,483 --> 00:34:20,282 Definitely running around with women. 754 00:34:20,363 --> 00:34:22,163 [Narrator] Others were suspicious. 755 00:34:22,242 --> 00:34:23,242 [dramatic music] 756 00:34:23,323 --> 00:34:26,643 We know that Diane's, his first wife's, sister 757 00:34:26,722 --> 00:34:30,682 raised concerns about the sudden unexpected death 758 00:34:30,762 --> 00:34:31,643 of her sister Diane, 759 00:34:31,722 --> 00:34:33,282 who was married to Ian previously. 760 00:34:33,363 --> 00:34:35,563 And raised these concerns with the coroner. 761 00:34:35,643 --> 00:34:39,403 And this then prompted an investigation into Diane's death. 762 00:34:39,483 --> 00:34:42,722 This was going on whilst he was in prison for the murder of Helen. 763 00:34:42,803 --> 00:34:44,643 [Narrator] Detectives revisit all of the evidence 764 00:34:44,722 --> 00:34:46,722 collected after his first wife's death. 765 00:34:47,682 --> 00:34:48,803 [Operator Voiceover] Is she breathing? 766 00:34:48,883 --> 00:34:49,843 [Ian Voiceover] I don't think so. 767 00:34:49,923 --> 00:34:51,043 I think she has had a fit. 768 00:34:51,123 --> 00:34:52,722 [Narrator] Proving that Diane had been murdered, 769 00:34:52,803 --> 00:34:54,722 given that her body had been cremated, 770 00:34:54,803 --> 00:34:56,963 poses a real challenge for the police. 771 00:34:57,043 --> 00:35:01,643 Ian Stewart's trial for the murder of his fiancé, Helen Bailey, is over. 772 00:35:01,723 --> 00:35:04,683 But his trials are far from over. 773 00:35:04,763 --> 00:35:08,043 [Detective] Mr. Stewart, I'm arresting you on suspicion 774 00:35:08,123 --> 00:35:09,523 of the murder of your late wife. 775 00:35:09,603 --> 00:35:10,963 [Narrator] It is 18 months 776 00:35:11,043 --> 00:35:13,243 after being convicted of murdering Helen Bailey 777 00:35:13,323 --> 00:35:16,603 that Stewart is charged with the murder of his wife, Diane. 778 00:35:16,683 --> 00:35:19,883 You're joking, [beep] you're digging desperate. 779 00:35:19,963 --> 00:35:21,563 [Detective] Friday the 25th of June. 780 00:35:21,643 --> 00:35:24,243 [Beep] what a load of [beep]. 781 00:35:24,323 --> 00:35:26,723 Have you got nothing better to do than make things up? 782 00:35:26,803 --> 00:35:29,243 [Narrator] Stewart once again refuses to answer questions. 783 00:35:29,323 --> 00:35:31,243 He is again confident that the police 784 00:35:31,323 --> 00:35:33,003 will struggle to get a conviction 785 00:35:33,083 --> 00:35:35,683 because Diane's body has been cremated. 786 00:35:35,763 --> 00:35:36,843 [dramatic music] 787 00:35:36,923 --> 00:35:38,803 But he's in for a surprise. 788 00:35:38,883 --> 00:35:41,523 Stewart doesn't know that in the event of her death, 789 00:35:41,603 --> 00:35:45,363 Diane had asked that her brain be kept for medical research. 790 00:35:45,443 --> 00:35:48,243 Remarkably, six years after her death, 791 00:35:48,323 --> 00:35:50,003 the police are able to track down 792 00:35:50,083 --> 00:35:51,923 where her brain has been stored 793 00:35:52,003 --> 00:35:54,043 and it is reexamined. 794 00:35:54,123 --> 00:35:57,763 And this scientist was dissecting her brain 795 00:35:57,843 --> 00:35:59,923 and said that the way she'd passed 796 00:36:00,003 --> 00:36:03,123 wasn't conducive with what was showing in this brain. 797 00:36:03,203 --> 00:36:04,163 [dramatic music] 798 00:36:04,243 --> 00:36:07,403 And actually this was the very thing 799 00:36:07,483 --> 00:36:11,763 that allowed people to investigate her death. 800 00:36:11,843 --> 00:36:14,523 Diane didn't die of the epileptic fit 801 00:36:14,603 --> 00:36:17,883 that everybody believed and Ian reported had happened. 802 00:36:17,963 --> 00:36:21,003 She died by murder, she died at the hands of somebody else. 803 00:36:21,083 --> 00:36:23,763 And that person was her husband, Ian. 804 00:36:23,843 --> 00:36:26,163 [Narrator] The forensic examination of Diane's brain 805 00:36:26,243 --> 00:36:29,643 turns up that there was only a one in 100,000 chance 806 00:36:29,723 --> 00:36:32,883 that she had actually died from an epileptic fit. 807 00:36:32,963 --> 00:36:34,283 And that's where the whole case, 808 00:36:34,363 --> 00:36:37,203 I believe that's what he was convicted on for Diane. 809 00:36:38,563 --> 00:36:41,083 [Narrator] The evidence proved that just like Helen Bailey, 810 00:36:41,163 --> 00:36:43,443 Diane had been strangled or suffocated. 811 00:36:44,203 --> 00:36:47,083 That death wasn't quick. Her death wasn't painless. 812 00:36:47,163 --> 00:36:48,963 There's no doubt Ian was a predator. 813 00:36:49,043 --> 00:36:51,523 I mean, we talk about the phrase, hiding in plain sight. 814 00:36:51,603 --> 00:36:53,523 A man like Ian does hide in plain sight. 815 00:36:53,603 --> 00:36:55,163 [dramatic music] 816 00:36:55,243 --> 00:36:57,083 The perfect guy, the perfect dad, 817 00:36:57,163 --> 00:37:00,323 the perfect husband, the perfect work colleague. 818 00:37:00,403 --> 00:37:02,563 That's the mask, that's the one he chooses to wear. 819 00:37:02,643 --> 00:37:04,123 [dramatic music] 820 00:37:04,203 --> 00:37:07,603 A lot of women who die at the hands of their abusive partners, 821 00:37:07,683 --> 00:37:11,163 strangulation, choking is a really common MO 822 00:37:11,243 --> 00:37:14,203 because it goes to the very heart of control. 823 00:37:14,283 --> 00:37:15,843 [dramatic music] 824 00:37:15,923 --> 00:37:17,723 Stopping somebody's airway 825 00:37:17,803 --> 00:37:19,923 or blocking somebody's ability to breathe, 826 00:37:20,003 --> 00:37:22,563 that's about power, that's about control, 827 00:37:22,643 --> 00:37:26,643 that is about physically having somebody's life in your hands. 828 00:37:26,723 --> 00:37:29,763 [dramatic music] 829 00:37:33,123 --> 00:37:36,283 [Narrator] In January, 2022, Ian Stewart stands trial 830 00:37:36,363 --> 00:37:40,203 at Huntington Crown Court for the murder of his wife, Diane. 831 00:37:40,283 --> 00:37:43,003 Bill Manley is called as a witness for the prosecution. 832 00:37:43,083 --> 00:37:44,523 I've never been to court before. 833 00:37:44,603 --> 00:37:47,443 I got all the briefing from various agencies that do it. 834 00:37:47,523 --> 00:37:49,563 And you know, I went and obviously they said, 835 00:37:49,643 --> 00:37:51,163 "You read your statement through." 836 00:37:51,243 --> 00:37:55,603 Which I'd written years before, I think read it through about six times. 837 00:37:55,683 --> 00:37:58,443 "Just say what's on there. 838 00:37:58,523 --> 00:38:00,003 Don't deviate from it. 839 00:38:00,083 --> 00:38:02,683 They might have a pop at you and try and try and bend your words, 840 00:38:02,763 --> 00:38:03,763 but just stick with it." 841 00:38:05,443 --> 00:38:10,203 But he did say, he said, "Well, I put it to you that is all a lie." 842 00:38:10,283 --> 00:38:13,043 And I said, well, it's not a lie, it's what happened. 843 00:38:13,123 --> 00:38:18,003 And it's absolutely the truth from my statement it's true. 844 00:38:18,083 --> 00:38:21,603 Didn't ever see Diane, never even saw her with a cold, 845 00:38:21,683 --> 00:38:25,203 put it that way so, never mind anything serious. 846 00:38:26,483 --> 00:38:28,123 [Narrator] In February, 2022, 847 00:38:28,203 --> 00:38:30,603 Ian Stewart is convicted for Diane's murder, 848 00:38:30,683 --> 00:38:33,763 having already been convicted for the murder of Helen Bailey. 849 00:38:33,843 --> 00:38:35,883 He is given a whole life sentence. 850 00:38:35,963 --> 00:38:37,923 [Operator Voiceover] You think she's had a fit? 851 00:38:38,003 --> 00:38:40,083 [Ian Voiceover] Well, I think so. She does have epilepsy. 852 00:38:40,163 --> 00:38:41,603 Well, I say it's nice to be proven. 853 00:38:41,683 --> 00:38:44,163 It's not nice, it's the wrong word for it really, 854 00:38:44,243 --> 00:38:46,323 but it's good that it's put to rest. 855 00:38:46,403 --> 00:38:48,643 Now we are all pleased. 856 00:38:48,723 --> 00:38:49,923 [gentle music] 857 00:38:50,003 --> 00:38:51,963 The people that, you know, love Diane as well 858 00:38:52,043 --> 00:38:54,563 were pleased that he's got his just desserts for it. 859 00:38:54,643 --> 00:38:56,443 It's as simple as that really. 860 00:38:56,523 --> 00:38:59,763 'Cause how he could do it in the first place. 861 00:38:59,843 --> 00:39:01,923 I mean, he would've got away with it 862 00:39:02,003 --> 00:39:05,803 without any shadow of a doubt if he hadn't murdered Helen. 863 00:39:06,883 --> 00:39:09,883 That almost certainly would never have, have come out. 864 00:39:09,963 --> 00:39:11,163 You know, as the judge said, 865 00:39:11,243 --> 00:39:15,803 "Doing something as cold and calculated as you've done, 866 00:39:15,883 --> 00:39:19,963 and all the time, still to this day, maintaining your innocence. 867 00:39:20,043 --> 00:39:25,283 You know, I think you're a fantastic actor and yeah, you should never be released." 868 00:39:27,363 --> 00:39:30,883 You never think, going through your life, that you'll ever meet anybody 869 00:39:30,963 --> 00:39:34,883 that's committed a serious crime, God forbid a murder, 870 00:39:34,963 --> 00:39:37,483 and then two of them. 871 00:39:37,563 --> 00:39:42,443 Well, it's just staggering, really that, yeah, unbelievable, I would've said. 872 00:39:42,523 --> 00:39:46,483 [dramatic music] 873 00:39:46,563 --> 00:39:51,083 He absolutely had every confidence in himself 874 00:39:51,163 --> 00:39:52,803 that he was gonna get away with this. 875 00:39:52,883 --> 00:39:57,003 He'd have had that confidence when he killed his first wife. 876 00:39:57,083 --> 00:40:00,923 And having succeeded with that and got this impression of himself 877 00:40:01,003 --> 00:40:03,603 that he'd pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. 878 00:40:03,683 --> 00:40:07,363 "How stupid is everyone else? I can do this again." 879 00:40:07,443 --> 00:40:10,283 [dramatic music] 880 00:40:10,883 --> 00:40:12,963 [Jill] If you are a perpetrator of domestic abuse, 881 00:40:13,043 --> 00:40:15,883 coercive control, your needs are above everybody. 882 00:40:15,963 --> 00:40:18,323 They're above your children, your partner, your colleagues. 883 00:40:18,403 --> 00:40:20,203 It's all about getting your needs met. 884 00:40:20,283 --> 00:40:23,003 And what you tend to find with men like Ian Stewart is, 885 00:40:23,083 --> 00:40:24,403 we talk about the mask. 886 00:40:24,483 --> 00:40:27,283 So when people meet Ian, they're not seeing the real Ian, 887 00:40:27,363 --> 00:40:29,683 they're seeing the guy he wants to portray. 888 00:40:29,763 --> 00:40:30,883 [dramatic music] 889 00:40:30,963 --> 00:40:34,163 They're seeing this kind, nice family guy. 890 00:40:34,243 --> 00:40:36,523 He's predatory, he's hunting, he's looking, 891 00:40:36,603 --> 00:40:39,323 he's looking for the next person to get his needs met. 892 00:40:40,083 --> 00:40:43,923 [Narrator] Those who know him believe that his motive for murder is financial. 893 00:40:44,003 --> 00:40:45,723 The more and more you think about it, 894 00:40:45,803 --> 00:40:48,483 the whole motive is money, money, money, money. 895 00:40:48,563 --> 00:40:50,563 And he had enough. 896 00:40:50,643 --> 00:40:52,963 But money seems to corrupt. 897 00:40:53,043 --> 00:40:55,363 The more you have, the more you seem to want. 898 00:40:55,443 --> 00:40:56,323 [gentle music] 899 00:40:56,403 --> 00:40:58,763 [Narrator] Was Stewart influenced by his favorite hobby, 900 00:40:58,843 --> 00:41:00,723 reading murder mysteries? 901 00:41:00,803 --> 00:41:04,483 Had he not been caught, absolutely sure he would've gone on 902 00:41:04,563 --> 00:41:08,083 and did similar to his next victim, without a shadow of a doubt. 903 00:41:08,163 --> 00:41:11,043 It worked for him, it's a tried and tested method. 904 00:41:11,123 --> 00:41:13,123 This time, thankfully he got caught. 905 00:41:13,203 --> 00:41:14,043 [dramatic music] 906 00:41:14,123 --> 00:41:15,843 [Narrator] On July 29th, 2022, 907 00:41:15,923 --> 00:41:18,723 Ian Stewart's whole life sentence was reduced on appeal. 908 00:41:18,803 --> 00:41:21,083 He will now serve 34 years in prison 909 00:41:21,163 --> 00:41:23,923 and not be released until he is in his 90s. 910 00:41:24,003 --> 00:41:26,563 And given the age of Ian now, 911 00:41:26,643 --> 00:41:30,603 thankfully I'm relieved that he will never and should never be released. 912 00:41:30,683 --> 00:41:33,843 Clearly I would say even that length of time in prison, 913 00:41:33,923 --> 00:41:36,363 he still poses a high risk of harm to women. 914 00:41:36,443 --> 00:41:38,003 [dramatic music] 915 00:41:38,083 --> 00:41:41,563 But he obviously believed, he truly believed, 916 00:41:41,643 --> 00:41:44,563 that he had got away with a perfect murder. 917 00:41:44,643 --> 00:41:46,403 I still think of it every day. 918 00:41:47,643 --> 00:41:49,203 I still think of Helen. 919 00:41:50,283 --> 00:41:52,803 And she was on the brink of a new life. 920 00:41:52,883 --> 00:41:55,163 And to have it cut short at that age 921 00:41:56,043 --> 00:41:59,043 is a tragedy beyond words. 922 00:41:59,483 --> 00:42:02,203 [dramatic music] 923 00:42:09,763 --> 00:42:12,923 ♪ I wanted you to see ♪ 924 00:42:13,003 --> 00:42:16,483 ♪ The damage that you've done to me ♪ 925 00:42:16,563 --> 00:42:20,283 ♪ The truth can't deny ♪ 926 00:42:20,363 --> 00:42:24,243 ♪ The enemy I just can't hide ♪ 927 00:42:24,323 --> 00:42:28,003 ♪ Don't turn off the light ♪