Helen Bailey: Man arrested

[BringMeTea]

Very sad.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-36768593

This case has been so very shocking and upsetting to read about. I admire Helen Bailey's writing so much, she articulated grief so well. I feel so very sad that she met such an evil and twisted man. RIP Helen.

JustCallMeDory: "He would have actually been better off if he'd waited a few more months until after they were married."

I'd been wondering about that. But there are two things. One is that she apparently took out a life insurance policy that would pay out if she died before their wedding, to cover the costs of the inheritance tax. The other is that he might have been worried that she was going to go to her GP about the fact that she was always falling asleep, and of course blood tests would have revealed the Zopiclone in her system. So perhaps he brought forward his plan to kill her.

But I also think it's more than likely that he got a kick out of killing people. (I think it's highly likely he killed his first wife.) It would be insane to take that risk just for the money.

Is there any chance that she died 'accidentally' or early from him drugging her, and he panicked and had to bring the plan forwards? Or even that he wasn't planning to murder her, just wanted her confused and forgetful so he could get/use power of attorney?

Is there any chance that she died 'accidentally' or early from him drugging her, and he panicked and had to bring the plan forwards? Or even that he wasn't planning to murder her, just wanted her confused and forgetful so he could get/use power of attorney?

I suppose there's always an infantismal chance it wasn't 'murder' in the strictest sense of the word. Or at least, not as premeditated as this appears.

However, if you have accidentally killed someone in ludicrous/suspicious/well dodgy circumstances, the first 📱 call you make should be to the cop shop so a post mortem will hopefully corroborate your unlikely story.

Not conceal her body in a sewage collection, kill the dog, concoct some cock and bull story about notes/shady henchmen, start making large withdrawals, try to dispose of assets, jet off to the sun and interrogate the neighbours about what they'd told the police.

I agree, VeryBitchy, it's highly unlikely. She spent the morning of April 11 emailing friends and googling wedding venues, and then suddenly her internet activity stopped. It doesn't seem probable that she just suddenly died. But whether she felt sleepy and went for a lie down, and he took the opportunity to smother her, or whether they perhaps had an argument and he suddenly flew into a rage and killed her (sooner than he'd intended) I don't suppose we'll ever know.

Oh yes, I don't think it makes him any less culpable. Just trying to think of explanations for the timing before they got married.

I was so sad to watch this programme yesterday. I guess no one really looks like a killer but I was searching his face for signs. You just can't tell, she certainly didn't. Poor family. She looked so vibrant and happy in the photos too. I hope he rots.

Is the thinking that the husband was actively looking to groom a rich widow from day 1 and that he never had any genuine feelings for Helen? I personally think like the motivation was not just money/property because he had some money and paid for half the house (unless this was an attempt to disguise his motive). He sounds like a proper psychopath who got a kick out of killing. He stalked his prey, kept up an act for 5 years and then kills her and dumps her body in the most disrespectful way. More to it than financial motive. This guy is a misogynist/sociopath/psychopath of the highest order!