The Devious Crimes of Double Murderer Ian Stewart | World's Most Evil Killers | True Crime | Forensic Files

[music playing] NARRATOR: In 2016, Helen Bailey was reported missing from her home in Hertfordshire, England,
by her fiancee. DISPATCHER 1: Hertfordshire Police. How can I help? IAN STEWART: Hello, there.
My partner has been missing since Monday and not contacted anyone. Said she was going away.
Hasn't gone-- ended up where she said she was going. NARRATOR: 55-year-old Ian Stewart
was later seen at the local tip disposing of a duvet. PARM SANDHU: Why, if your partner is missing,
why would you go and dispose of a duvet the very next day? Surely you'd be sitting at home waiting for your partner
to call or to come back. NARRATOR: After months of intense searching, police discovered that the missing author
had never even left the house. GEOFFREY WANSELL: Helen's body is found in the cesspit along with the dog, along with Boris.
It's a particularly gruesome, grisly place to find a 51-year-old woman's body, especially
one who's done nothing but been kind, generous, and warm-hearted. NARRATOR: The writer's happy ending had turned to tragedy.
And her murderous fiance, Ian Stewart, was revealed as one of the world's most evil killers.
[music playing] NARRATOR: In 2017, Ian Stewart was convicted of murdering his fiancee, Helen Bailey,
and sentenced to 34 years in prison. Helen wasn't the first partner of Stewart's
to meet an early demise. The shocking murder prompted police to re-examine the death
of his late wife, Diane. SAM RUSSELL: He'd been able to live a normal life for six years.
And then his reaction when the police were onto him about what had happened all these years ago was
just to dismiss it out of hand. POLICE OFFICER 1: --Diane Stewart-- You're joking.
POLICE OFFICER 1: --on Friday-- [bleep] You're digging desp-- POLICE OFFICER 1: --Friday the 25th of June, 2--
[bleep] NARRATOR: As the details of his actions emerged, family, friends, and an entire community
were left stunned at how Ian Stewart had been hiding in plain sight amongst them.
FIONA LEISHMAN: There was a lot of shock in the community and a lot of people asking questions
about how he had gotten away with this for so long. There was a lot of disgust in the community over what he had
done, over the way that he'd done it, and how he had played it off for all those years.
NARRATOR: This killer story begins in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, in 1960. PARM SANDHU: We know very little about Ian Stewart
up until he went to university. We know that he was an only child. His mother passed in 2019, and his father, who is retired,
is still alive. SAM RUSSELL: Ian Stewart worked in IT. He had a fairly unremarkable life.
He'd met his wife at university in Salford. They moved in together. They went to live in Cambridge, where he got a job.
And they married in October 1986. NARRATOR: The newlyweds settled down in Bassingbourn.
And by 1992, Diane and Ian Stewart had started a family together. FIONA LEISHMAN: He had two children with Diane, two sons.
And he was thought to be quite a family man. He very much looks like the stereotypical next door
neighbor, dad next door. You'll see him at the football game or the weekend with a son sort of thing.
NARRATOR: In his early 30s, Stewart was diagnosed with a medical condition which led to early retirement.
SAM RUSSELL: I believe it was called myasthenia gravis, a muscle weakening condition.
So he stopped work early. But he had a very generous life insurance policy through work, which paid him enough per year
to quite comfortably live on. GEOFFREY WANSELL: He also had some difficulty sleeping, which becomes important as the story extends.
And he got various drugs to help him sleep. NARRATOR: With Stewart no longer working,
his wife, Diane, took a job at the local primary school as a teaching assistant and was well-liked among colleagues.
She was a caring, doting mother. She was a caring, doting wife. And she was very much the typical woman
you would see walking down the street in the village. SAM RUSSELL: I think they were active with bowls,
and their sons were in the air cadets but well-settled into the community there.
PARM SANDHU: There were no outward signs of any problems in their marriage, and they seemed to be a perfect family,
you know, two children, lovely home, lovely house. And they seemed to be happy. NARRATOR: But their perfect family
would be torn apart with the sudden and shocking events that unfolded on the 25th of June, 2010.
FIONA LEISHMAN: Diane and Ian were at home. Their eldest son went out for a driving test.
And while he was out for his driving test, the youngest son was at school, I believe.
And Ian went out to go and buy some groceries. He said he'd forgot his wallet, so he turned back from the supermarket,
got back, found his wife unresponsive in the garden. IAN STEWART: My wife's had a fit, I think.
She's in the garden. She's in the garden. DISPATCHER 2: OK, but you need to slow down, OK, because you--
IAN STEWART: She's-- she's in the garden. She's unconscious. DISPATCHER 2: Is she breathing?
IAN STEWART: I don't think so. I've tri-- I've turned her to try and put her in the recovery position,
but I can't do it, actually. She's just flopped back. I think she's had a fit. DISPATCHER 2: You think she's had a fit?
IAN STEWART: Well, the think so. She does have epilepsy. Diane, as a child or a teenager,
had had mild epilepsy. And she'd had a fit or two, but nothing dramatic, nothing horrifying.
And it wasn't persistent. MAN: She hadn't had an epileptic fit since around about
the time of their firstborn. And it was, by all accounts, very well-managed with medication.
NARRATOR: An ambulance raced to the family's home, as Stewart, husband of 23 years, remained on the line
to the call operator. DISPATCHER 2: Pump the chest hard and fast at least twice per second. IAN STEWART: Right.
Yeah. DISPATCHER 2: We're going to do this 600 times or until help can take over.
IAN STEWART: OK. Doing it. The call taker sort of took him through the process of performing CPR, one,
two, three, four, on his wife. They arrived. Tried to revive her. Were unable to.
And she was dead in the garden. NARRATOR: Her sons arrived home to the devastating news
of their mother's death. PARM SANDHU: They actually were there when the body of their mum was lying on the patio.
And what really got to me, what really hurt me the most was a 15-year-old boy saying, I was able to give
my mom a last kiss. That's just heartbreaking for me, heartbreaking. NARRATOR: The explanation offered by Stewart
was mirrored in the postmortem, with Diane Stewart's death being recorded as sudden death in epilepsy.
BRETT LOCKYER: The suggestion was that she had an epileptic seizure, or she had a seizure which caused her death.
Because of that, her death wasn't treated as suspicious. And therefore, she was subjected to what's known as a routine
or a coroner's postmortem. NARRATOR: The coroner's report left Diane's sister with questions.
She was then very keen to understand how her healthy sister could suddenly have died like this,
you know. She played sports. She had nothing wrong with her. And in her eyes, she just couldn't get her head
around how this could have happened, how she could suddenly be gone. NARRATOR: Stewart discouraged Diane's sister from further
questioning the report and stopped her from visiting the family home. Left to his own devices, he planned
the funeral, making arrangements for Diane's body to be cremated. Her life insurance provided Stewart with 96,600 pounds.
And he appeared to be quietly coping with the death of his wife. PARM SANDHU: You can't always predict
how a husband or any member of a family is going to behave or react to a death in the family.
Ian seemed to be so calm and in control because he's got two young sons to look after.
He's dealing with the funeral arrangements and the death of his wife of many, many years.
NARRATOR: Soon after, he joined a bereavement group. And in October 2011, he was introduced
to fellow widower Helen Bailey. PARM SANDHU: Helen Bailey was a very successful writer.
And she was at the peak of her career. She had written a series of books about a young teenager
and the coming of age and different trials and tribulations that a youngster would have.
So she was very talented, very affluent, and very self-sufficient. FIONA LEISHMAN: She was known to be a very
bright and bubbly person. She was well-liked and well-loved. And one of her biggest loves in her life
was her sausage dog, Boris. NARRATOR: 46-year-old Helen lost her husband in February 2011,
when he tragically drowned whilst the couple were on holiday in Barbados. The author started a blog documenting her grief.
GEOFFREY WANSELL: She became something of a celebrity talking about grief. She appeared on the radio.
She was regularly asked about it. To some extent, she was something of a public figure.
NARRATOR: The pair hit it off straight away. And through their mutual grief, they soon became close.
PARM SANDHU: So she's gone to this group looking for consolation, friendship, and other people who had suffered
the same way that she had. And she quickly became infatuated by Ian, who seemed to understand,
who seemed to, you know, bombard her with messages, calls, presents. And she almost, you know, became spellbound by him
because she was grieving, and he filled that gap that was left in her life. NARRATOR: By 2013, the couple had bought a 1.5 million
pound property together in Royston, Hertfordshire. And three years later, there was a proposal.
FIONA LEISHMAN: From there, they actually ended up getting engaged. And it was somewhat quick, given that they were both still
possibly grieving at the time. They were on this bereavement page. They have both lost people that they loved.
But they seem to really gel quite quickly. NARRATOR: However, on the 15th of April 2016,
the wedding plans were put on hold. And Stewart found himself once again on the phone
to the emergency services. He'd not heard from his fiancee in four days. DISPATCHER 1: Hertfordshire Police.
How can I help? IAN STEWART: Hello, there. My partner has been missing since Monday
and not contacted anyone. Said she was going away. Hasn't gone-- ended up where she said she was going.
So we've just decided we should report it. PARM SANDHU: Now, four days is a long time.
However, when cases like this come in to the police, because Helen is an adult, she would have
been considered as a low risk. IAN STEWART: So she-- no. She left a note. She said-- she said in the note something
like, I need space and time alone. I'm going to Broadstairs. Please don't contact me in any way.
But in Broadstairs, she's got-- we've got a cottage down there. But we-- people have been down there with neighbors,
and she hasn't-- she's not there. Hasn't been there either. FIONA LEISHMAN: There was talk that she
had gone off somewhere. She'd vanished. She was thought to just be off the face of the Earth,
unable to find her. DISPATCHER 1: Did Helen go in a vehicle? IAN STEWART: No, she didn't.
She left her car here. She did take her dog with her. She's got a little dachshund.
PARM SANDHU: The fact that the dog, Boris, was also missing would have created some suspicions because how
was she feeding the dog? Where was she walking the dog? NARRATOR: Friends and family became increasingly concerned
for Helen's safety as the police investigation intensified. PARM SANDHU: One of the biggest factors
was the fact that she spoke to her mum every two or three days. And she was very close to her brother.
There was no contact at all. And that would have raised alarm bells. FIONA LEISHMAN: They searched the Royston home,
and they made a search of the area. They tried to really find any evidence there.
But Ian Stewart and Helen Bailey also had a holiday cottage together down in Kent.
And police went to the extent of searching that one as well, thinking that maybe she had just taken off there
to get away for a little bit. NARRATOR: With no sign of Helen at either of her homes,
detectives began to delve deeper into her digital accounts. PARM SANDHU: As time passed, there
would have been more and more suspicions aroused because there was that lack of, you know, financial footprint.
There's no money being used. How can you live without your credit cards or your money?
And bear in mind that Helen was quite an avid user of social media. There were no posts being made on any sort of social media.
NARRATOR: On the 11th of May, four weeks after Helen had last been seen alive, a public appeal was circulated.
And officers trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage desperately trying to locate the author.
PARM SANDHU: The majority of missing persons cases are solved within 24 hours. And if they go on any longer, the risk increases.
So if a person has been missing for weeks and months, it's not a good sign. NARRATOR: With no leads, hopes of Helen's safe return
were fading, and investigators revisited the couple's home in Royston to interview Stewart.
POLICE OFFICER 2: Helen was last seen on Monday, the 11th of April. Is that correct? IAN STEWART: Yeah.
POLICE OFFICER 2: OK. I would like you to take me through what happened that day.
IAN STEWART: This is what I can't remember very well. I'll tell you what I can remember.
But what some of what I can remember is maybe what I've said since and when I've looked
in the diary, things like that. POLICE OFFICER 2: OK. IAN STEWART: Just that day?
POLICE OFFICER 2: Start with that day. Ian Stewart was going about his day-to-day life.
He didn't seem to be that concerned about the fact that his fiancee was, in fact, missing
and couldn't be found and couldn't be contacted. POLICE OFFICER 2: If you're comfortable
starting with that day, that's the day that we would like to concentrate on for as long
as you're comfortable with that. FIONA LEISHMAN: He had some strange activities,
such as taking the duvet to the tip, which could be seen as something suspicious.
NARRATOR: Stewart was very quick to explain that away. IAN STEWART: I remember bits of it.
The first bit I remember is we loaded the car or Helen loaded my car with an old duvet and some boxes
ready to take to the dump. NARRATOR: Detectives found more suspicious moments in Stewart's timeline.
PARM SANDHU: So one of the things that he did in the days following was that he increased
a standing order, which was 600 pounds a month into his account from hers, to 4,000 pounds a month.
FIONA LEISHMAN: Unusual behavior for somebody who is meant to be missing his fiancee because he
can't find her anywhere. GEOFFREY WANSELL: Stewart not only alters standing order.
Helen was paying him on the day of her disappearance. That night, in an attempt to appear as normal as possible,
he drives to Cambridge to see his son playing in a bowls tournament. And afterwards, they have a Chinese meal together.
PARM SANDHU: He actually used her account to renew his season ticket to Arsenal.
I mean, surely, that could have waited. It just shows how unaffected he was. As the days increased into weeks and months
and there was no activity on her accounts, no activity on her social media accounts, no sightings,
and no contact made with other family members, that concern and that risk would have been raised.
NARRATOR: When police learned the details of Helen's will, they found a possible motive for murder that might explain
Stewart's aloof behavior. GEOFFREY WANSELL: They've only become engaged. They don't actually get married before her disappearance.
But nevertheless, he stands to inherit because Helen has been overwhelmed by this fabulous graying widower.
He's going to get the insurance policy on her life and the house. Yeah, we're talking about a lot of money,
several million pounds. NARRATOR: And it wasn't the only house he stood to inherit.
PARM SANDHU: He actually visited their solicitors to speed up the sale of a house that Helen had
in North Shields, which was worth about 185,000 pounds. So he actually went to the solicitors
and tried to use a power of attorney that she had given him to speed up that sale.
NARRATOR: Police needed more proof to confirm their suspicions. In search of the evidence, they went back to the 101
call made by Stewart. DISPATCHER 1: And what's her date of birth? IAN STEWART: Oh, crikey. God.
You've thrown me there. 22nd-- well, just let me double-check one second. Oh, god. I'm sorry.
I'm just double-checking. As you asked that, it just went straight out my head. DISPATCHER 1: And her eye color?
IAN STEWART: Her eye color. Oh my god. How do you forget these things? I don't know at the moment.
I'm sorry. It's just gone out my head. He can't remember her date of birth. He can't remember the color of her eyes.
PARM SANDHU: It was almost like a wishy-washy call. You know, I've got to make the call,
but I don't really want to. NARRATOR: All hopes of finding Helen alive had now gone.
The missing person investigation had become a murder case. On the 11th of July, three months
after her disappearance, police arrested their prime suspect, Ian Stewart. I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Helen Bailey--
You're joking. --and of disposing her body in a manner that will likely obstruct the coroner and the theft
of money of Helen Bailey. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defense if you
do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
Do you understand that? I guess so. NARRATOR: Police were now convinced that Stewart
had murdered his fiancee. But without finding Helen's body, they pin their hopes on getting a confession.
INVESTIGATOR: You're the last person to see her alive. You wait four days to report her missing.
You're vague about your movements on the 11th. At best, vague. Did you kill Helen Bailey?
Did you intend to kill her? Or was this an accident? What happened? Did you just lose control, lose-- just lose it?
Some big argument, and you killed her, and you've been covering up ever since. Because if that's what's happened,
you need to tell us now because this could be your last opportunity to speak to police about this.
You are here on suspicion of murder. NARRATOR: With Stewart giving nothing away,
police turn their attention to a meticulous search of the two-acre property, desperate to find
hard evidence. After 48 hours, they came up empty-handed. As they prepared to pack up, Helen's neighbor
informed them of a second cesspit under the couple's garage. It appears that he's parked Helen Bailey's
car over where the cesspit was. And there were two cesspits in that house. So the police wouldn't necessarily have known that.
And so they missed that cesspit right from the initial search. NARRATOR: When investigators reviewed the footage
from Stewart's arrest, it appeared that he may have inadvertently given himself away.
In amongst an upsetting and stressful situation, Stewart asked a strange question.
Is that why the garage door's open? GEOFFREY WANSELL: On the 15th of July 2016, Helen's body is found in the cesspit, along with the dog,
along with Boris. It's a particularly gruesome, grisly place to find a 51-year-old woman's body, especially
one who's done nothing but been kind, generous, and warm-hearted. PARM SANDHU: It is extremely shocking
that after that three-month intensive searching, CCTV trawling, you know, witness appeals, you know, talking
to members of the community and everything else that that happened, that she was actually found in her own home.
She'd never left her own home with her dog. NARRATOR: Ian Stewart had concealed the manhole cover of the cesspit with Helen's car.
But he couldn't conceal the traces of the sleeping pill zopiclone found during the postmortem.
PARM SANDHU: It had looked like he'd been using this drug on her for many, many months.
And then finally, on that day, he killed her. BRETT LOCKYER: So the fact that zopiclone is detected
in the hair again would support that she had been receiving zopiclone on intervals prior to her death.
Toxicology results indicated that zopiclone was so high that she was heavily sedated, then
that would give an indication as to why she may not have fought back when she realized
what was happening to her. NARRATOR: Police learned that Stewart had a prescription
for zopiclone sleeping pills and had requested them from his GP in the months before Helen's disappearance.
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: So all this time, he is performing this role as the devoted fiancee,
the caring person who makes breakfast for their partner every morning. But with every serving of the scrambled eggs
that she had every day, he was slowly killing her. NARRATOR: Due to the condition of the body,
the pathologist was unable to determine Helen's cause of death. BRETT LOCKYER: The forensic postmortem was
hampered by the decomposition. And if someone had died in natural causes, in nonsuspicious circumstances, then
you'd ask the question, well, why is their body in a cesspit? NARRATOR: On the 10th of January 2017, eight
months after Helen Bailey had been reported missing, her fiance, Ian Stewart, was charged with her murder.
The revelation that this apparently doting fiancee and father of two was actually a killer
shocked the community. PARM SANDHU: One of the most awful things about this case
is that for three months, Ian lied to family, friends, to the community, to the police officers,
saying that Helen was missing when he knew full well she was dead. FIONA LEISHMAN: When the details of this case came out,
people were very much shocked to their core. And they were sickened. And a lot of people were very, very upset
and shaken that somebody who could commit such a heinous act had been living among them and had
been part of their community. NARRATOR: The trial began in January 2017 at St Albans Crown Court, where Stewart pleaded not guilty.
GEOFFREY WANSELL: The jury believes that this man who likes to present as being rather offhand
and a bit fuzzy and a bit unsure is actually a callous and calculated premeditated killer.
NARRATOR: On February the 23rd, 2017, Ian Stewart was found guilty of murder, fraud, preventing
legal burial, and three counts of perverting the course of justice. He was sentenced to 34 years in prison.
In the wake of Stewart's conviction for Helen's killing, her brother pays tribute to the fact the world has lost
a gifted author and also to the dramatic impact her death has had on the family, her friends, her parents.
It's difficult not to feel the most intense sympathy for the family, as so often is the case.
PARM SANDHU: The judge described Ian Stewart as being callous, being there for the money, planning it, deceiving not just
Helen's family, but also the police, that he was a cold, calculated, callous killer
who had set out with a plan. And he viewed women as being commodities, as a meal ticket.
And all he wanted to do was to sustain his lifestyle. GEOFFREY WANSELL: There's something infinitely poignant
about the fact that Helen trusted Stewart, and he repaid her trust by killing her.
NARRATOR: It wasn't over for Ian Stewart. Unbeknownst to him, detectives were re-examining the sudden death of his wife, Diane.
FIONA LEISHMAN: Given what he had just been convicted of and the fact that he had lost his first wife
seven years prior, it really started to raise some suspicions over that case, over the circumstances of her death.
NARRATOR: Detectives would face significant challenges in their search for proof.
Diane had been cremated, according to Stewart's wishes. Advanced toxicology tests have not
been carried out, as her death hadn't been considered suspicious. PARM SANDHU: They would have started to look at the case.
But they have to be really careful because they can't reignite a case if they haven't got the evidence.
There's a family involved, and it's not just the person who dies. It's also the sons that were left behind.
BRETT LOCKYER: If there is no body, it's very difficult to be able to come to a conclusion
as to how someone may have died. NARRATOR: On the 21st of August, 2018, while serving a life
sentence for the murder of Helen Bailey, Ian Stewart was arrested in prison on suspicion
of murdering his wife, Diane. POLICE OFFICER 1: Mr. Stewart, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of your late wife,
Diane Stewart-- You're joking. POLICE OFFICER 1: --on Friday-- [bleep] You're digging desp--
POLICE OFFICER 1: --Friday the 25th of June 2-- [bleep] What a load of [bleep]..
POLICE OFFICER 1: Say anything, but it may harm your defense if you do not mention, when questioned,
something which you later rely on in court. What [bleep]. POLICE OFFICER 1: You do say may be given in evidence.
Have you got nothing better to do than make things up? POLICE OFFICER 1: We can discuss this at Thorpe Wood Police
Station, which is where we're-- Oh my god. POLICE OFFICER 1: --going today. His reaction was dismissive, you know.
You're joking. And surprised that anyone could think that this had happened. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Two words spring
to mind when I look at his reaction here, annoyed and inconvenienced. Because these police officers have disrupted his day.
SAM RUSSELL: After answering an initial few questions with a sort of cockiness and arrogance that, you know,
he was getting away with this, he then just basically doesn't engage with the officers there.
He thinks that they won't be able to solve this case and that he's going to get away with it.
I just remember hearing about it and thinking, oh my gosh. Here we go again because Helen Bailey's case was
so horrific and the coverage and all the details that came out, they really were very shocking.
And to think that seven years prior, he had caused the death of another woman who he professed to love.
PARM SANDHU: He thought he was above it all. He thought he could get away with the perfect murder.
NARRATOR: But Stewart had overlooked Diane's last selfless act, which would uncover the selfish actions of an evil killer.
FIONA LEISHMAN: Diane's body had been cremated, but samples of her brain tissue had been left to research.
She was an epileptic, so she wanted to leave parts of her brain to research so that more could be
done to look into the disease. BRETT LOCKYER: I think the fact that the brain had been donated
is the saving grace in this case because that's the reason why the brain still existed.
Otherwise, the material wouldn't be available. SAM RUSSELL: It just didn't cross Ian Stewart's mind
that all these years on, you know, there could be a significant finding from the items that
had been taken. NARRATOR: This exceptional turn of events allowed pathologists to perform tests on the brain tissue
seven years after Diane's death. The original cause of death was given as SUDEP, or sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy.
But the new results showed the presence of a protein known as beta APP, which is formed when
the body has been starved of oxygen for a longer period of time. Now, someone who's died from epilepsy or SUDEP
wouldn't usually survive. They would usually die within the throes of a seizure because
of the disturbances within the normal electrical activity in the brain. She was suggesting, of course, that she
collapsed suddenly and died. But the postmortem doesn't support that. NARRATOR: The findings would lead
pathologists to conclude that Diane had likely been killed by suffocation. BRETT LOCKYER: When someone has an epileptic seizure,
we know that they hold their breath for a period of time. But that wouldn't be sufficient to cause
the changes in the brain that I've seen in this case. PARM SANDHU: So that straightaway
led to only one person being present at that address. Only one person could have done that.
And there was only one person who was really evasive in relation to making that phone call,
that initial phone call when he said he found her on the patio. And that was Ian Stewart.
NARRATOR: Stewart denied the charge. And in January 2022, he once again found himself in court, charged with murdering his partner.
FIONA LEISHMAN: So when this case went to trial for Diane's death, Ian Stewart initially pleaded not guilty.
And his defense team thought they had a very strong case. SAM RUSSELL: He says he didn't do it.
You know, she died of epilepsy. And on the stand, he said he actually tried to save his wife's life.
NARRATOR: But as the prosecution looked more closely at the 999 audio from that day, holes started
to appear in Stewart's story. FIONA LEISHMAN: The call to 999 has been described as chilling,
the way in which he spoke, his inability to really answer some basic facts about his wife, who he had been with for quite
a number of years. DISPATCHER: How old is she, please? IAN STEWART: She's 45-- 47.
47. 47. Even when you're stressed, if you've been with somebody for that long, you do know the basics,
and you do remember. DISPATCHER: Is she breathing? IAN STEWART: No. I don't think so. No.
DISPATCHER: Right. You need to go and check on her, sir, for me, please. IAN STEWART: I'm right beside her now.
DISPATCHER: All right. Is she breathing? IAN STEWART: No, sir. No. No. DISPATCHER: She's not breathing. IAN STEWART: Don't think so.
DISPATCHER: Right. Well, check her for me. IAN STEWART: Oh, right. Yeah. That would not have been sufficient
time for him to actually assess whether she was still breathing. So it's clear that he is not doing the things
that the operator tells him to. PARM SANDHU: He doesn't appear to be distressed.
He doesn't appear to be shocked. And it's almost like he's playing for time. DISPATCHER: Is she breathing?
IAN STEWART: I don't think so. I've trie-- I've turned her to try and put her in the recovery
position, but I can't do it. She's just flopped back. I think she's had a fit. DISPATCHER: You think she's had a fit?
IAN STEWART: Well, I think so. She does have epilepsy. That was just beyond belief because you wouldn't
necessarily revert back to something that happened 18 years ago and link it to what's happening today.
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Stewart is essentially shaping the narrative. He's creating a story around Diane's death.
And in doing that, he is preventing any awkward questions, essentially. This story is a credible one.
And unfortunately, it's one that people believe. PARM SANDHU: And because there were no obvious signs of, you
know, strangulation or stabbing or, you know, any sort of trauma to the body, had he not
introduced that conversation at that early stage, it may have been investigated a little bit more intensively.
NARRATOR: There were more red flags presented in court from the 999 call. DISPATCHER: Right.
Kneel next to her, and look in her mouth for food or vomit. IAN STEWART: Well, I've wiped some of that away already.
There was vomit, yes. DISPATCHER: Just do what I'm telling you-- IAN STEWART: Yeah, OK. I am.
DISPATCHER: --sir, OK? IAN STEWART: Yes. Yeah. I am. DISPATCHER: Is there anything in the mouth?
IAN STEWART: Well, there looks like a lot of sick, yeah. DISPATCHER: Pardon? IAN STEWART: Yeah.
Maybe look quite a bit of sick, yes. DISPATCHER: Right. You need to calm yourself down so we can help her.
Is there anything in the mouth? IAN STEWART: I don't think so. I don't think so.
When the operator asks him to look in Diane's mouth to check that her airway is clear,
he changes the story. And that suggests to me that he's not actually looking in her mouth.
DISPATCHER: OK. Listen carefully, and I'll tell you how to do resuscitation. Place the heel of your hand on the breastbone
in the center of her chest-- IAN STEWART: Right. DISPATCHER: --right between the nipples.
Put your other hand on top of that hand. IAN STEWART: Yes. DISPATCHER: Push down firmly two inches
with only the heel of your lower hand touching the chest. IAN STEWART: Yeah. DISPATCHER: Now listen carefully.
You need to pump the chest hard and fast at least twice per second. We're going to do this 600 times or until help can take over.
Let the chest come all the way up between pumps. IAN STEWART: Can I just say something?
They can't get in at the moment. All the doors are locked. DISPATCHER: Right. You need-- you need to start this sir, OK?
IAN STEWART: OK. Yeah. I'm doing it. DISPATCHER: Count out loud so that I can count with you.
IAN STEWART: So I press and-- press twice and then release, press twice, release. That right?
DISPATCHER: Right. Pump the chest hard and fast at least twice per second. IAN STEWART: Right. Yeah.
DISPATCHER: We'll do this 600 times or until help can take over. IAN STEWART: OK.
Doing it. He's saying that he's performing CPR on his wife, the woman he's been married to for many years.
And he's sort of sounding like he's tired of it. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: You really can tell that all
is not well on this call. What seems to be going on is not what's going on at all.
Diane was dead at this point. He knew that she was dead because he had killed her.
SAM RUSSELL: He looked very uncomfortable at points when the 999 call-- audio of the 999 call
was played out in court. He'd sometimes sort of slump forwards a bit with his head
in his hands, sort of look up at the ceiling. He just didn't look very comfortable hearing this.
NARRATOR: During the trial, one of the paramedics who attended the scene that day gave vital evidence.
SAM RUSSELL: He said that, you know, you'd expect that if someone had been giving CPR
and for the length of time that it would have been for that phone call and for him having said that he'd, you
know, made attempts before that as well, that he'd expect to see broken ribs and all sorts.
But there was no sign of any external injury to Diane Stewart, which was unusual.
NARRATOR: The prosecutor's case was further strengthened when evidence from the Helen Bailey conviction
was presented to the jury. It brought back a lot of quite horrific memories for a lot of people.
It really brought everything flooding back from Helen Bailey's case. SAM RUSSELL: The Helen Bailey case
was absolutely central to the prosecution case as part of this. They were able to put the two cases side by side,
you know, a woman who he's in a close relationship with at home, where no one else is there,
and using a similar mechanism of killing. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: The method of suffocation
tells us a lot about how driven Stewart was to kill Diane because the medical expert afterwards said that her brain
would have been starved of oxygen for between 35 minutes and an hour. So this wasn't a quick death.
It took quite a long time to come about. And at any point during this, Stewart could have stopped.
NARRATOR: In court, it was clear that Stewart's family had been duped by the master manipulator,
just as his two victims had. FIONA LEISHMAN: When Ian Stewart's dad took the stand,
he gave evidence at court saying that his son was a loving and caring and kind husband.
There were a lot of good words spoken about Ian Stewart by friends, family members, loved ones during that trial,
a lot of people saying that he would never hurt a fly. And so to then have him charged with the death of another woman
that he had supposedly loved, it really stood out as quite an intense moment and quite
a juxtaposition between what he had done and the man that he was perceived to be.
NARRATOR: Shockingly, it transpired during the trial that Stewart had used the funds he'd inherited from Diane's
life insurance to make some lavish purchases in the weeks after her death. FIONA LEISHMAN: He was adamant that this money would
be for their sons, and this money would be used to help build their sons' future.
In fact, what he did after Diane's death, he went out and bought a red two-seater MG.
GEOFFREY WANSELL: He says to give him something to remember her by. It is ludicrous.
If he had been genuinely grieving for Diane, would he have done that? My answer to that is absolutely not.
NARRATOR: On the 9th of February 2022, Ian Stewart was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Diane
Stewart, 12 years earlier. SAM RUSSELL: It was a unanimous verdict. But police had said afterwards, he
thought that he was cleverer than the officers who were investigating this case.
The arrogance of the man to think that he can kill not once, but twice, and get away with it both times.
But he's been found out. NARRATOR: Although initially sentenced to a whole life term,
in July 2022, following a successful appeal, that whole life order was reduced to life imprisonment
with a minimum of 35 years. It means that unless there are exceptional compassionate
grounds, he will die behind bars. NARRATOR: The verdict came as a shock to the family and friends who thought
Diane had died of epilepsy. SAM RUSSELL: Can you imagine? You've just been told that not only did your father murder
his fiancee, but he murdered his wife, their mother. PARM SANDHU: They've been having a normal relationship
with their father, thinking that he was a tragic widower. For them to have to come to terms with the fact
that their father killed their mother and also Diane's sister, that this man has
lied to them for so many years. And he was sort of trying to look and catch the eyeline of his two boys, and they
just weren't meeting his gaze. And that was sort of the last thing before he was led down to--
led down to the cells and back to prison, that he was trying to look at them, and they just wouldn't look back at him.
I believe that Stewart is an incredibly dangerous man. And I think had he not been caught for Helen's murder,
he would have gone on to kill again. FIONA LEISHMAN: What makes Ian Stewart so evil
is he looks like any man that you would find walking down the road. He looks like any dad that you would
see at the school gates at 3:30 in the afternoon picking their kids up. It isn't until you start to learn about the details of what
he had done, and you start to delve into his motivations and delve into the nitty-gritty facts of these cases,
that you realize that underneath this facade of the kind, caring father and the next door neighbor,
there is somebody that is capable of some true evil and committing some heinous and horrific things
against other living people. NARRATOR: Ian Stewart was a narcissist who used people for his own ends, a wolf
in sheep's clothing. The dad next door deceived not one, but two romantic partners before ending their lives
and stealing their money. That undoubtedly makes him one of the world's most evil killers.
[music playing]

Season 7, Episode 9

Ian Stewart was jailed for the shocking murder of author, Helen Bailey, which then lead to a second conviction for the death of his wife, six years earlier.

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Brief Summary

Ian Stewart murdered his fiancée Helen Bailey and was later convicted for the murder of his first wife Diane Stewart.

Key points

The Disappearance of Helen Bailey. In 2016, Helen Bailey was reported missing by her fiancé, Ian Stewart, leading to a shocking investigation.
Ian Stewart's Arrest. After months of investigation, Ian Stewart was arrested on suspicion of murder.
The Gruesome Discovery. Helen's body was found in a cesspit, revealing the dark truth behind her disappearance.
The Shocking Revelation. Ian Stewart, once seen as a devoted fiancé, is revealed to be a murderer.
The Trial of Ian Stewart. Stewart is found guilty of murder and sentenced to 34 years in prison.
Uncovering a Second Murder. While serving time, Stewart is arrested for the murder of his first wife, Diane.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The writer's happy ending had turned to tragedy.

Summarizing the shift in Helen's story.

1:13WatchJan 19, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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