LONDON: The partner of British children’s author Helen Bailey was charged with murder Saturday after police found her body in the grounds of her home.
The Hertfordshire Police force said 55-year-old Ian Stewart appeared in court Saturday and was ordered detained until his next hearing on Monday.
Bailey, 51, was last seen walking her miniature dachshund Boris on April 11, and Stewart reported her missing soon after. He issued a note appealing for her to return, saying, “Whatever has happened, wherever you, are I will come and get you and Boris and give you whatever you need.”
This week police began searching the grounds of Bailey’s home in Royston, north of London, where they found her body. A post-mortem examination is scheduled for Monday.
Police said they had also found the remains of Bailey’s dog Boris on the property.
Stewart has also been charged with perverting the course of justice by reporting Bailey missing and hiding her body, and with preventing a lawful burial.
Bailey created the Electra Brown and Daisy Davenport series of novels for teenagers, and wrote a blog called Planet Grief after her husband of 22 years drowned during a Caribbean holiday in 2011. She also wrote about her bereavement in a book for adults, “When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis.”
Members of the writer’s family said in a statement that “we share with Helen’s friends, neighbors and fans our shock, disbelief and sadness at the news of her tragic death.”
“In life, Helen was a very just person and we know that she would now wish, like us, for justice to be done,” they said.
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:twitter.com)
