The Murder of Helen Bailey Part 1

In April 2016, the bestselling children's author Helen Bailey
vanished from her £1.4 million home. Her fiancé Ian Stewart
called the police, then wrote an open letter begging her to
return. But, behind the public grief, he was hiding a terrible
secret. Forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes traces how 51-year-old
Helen fell for a quiet, unassuming father of two she met on a
Facebook bereavement group after her husband’s death. She and
Stewart got engaged. But as the wedding approached, she grew
exhausted and forgetful. Then, on Monday April 11th, every trace
of her online life suddenly went dark. This is the story of how
detectives saw past Stewart's lies and began to suspect he was a
man who had not only murdered once – but twice. 




Key psychological themes

This episode explores: the predatory courtship of a grieving
widow • performative grief and manufactured intimacy • coercive
control disguised as care • the psychology of a killer who stays
close to the investigation



Contributors

•     Kerry
Daynes — Forensic psychologist, TV presenter, and
author.


•     Colin
Sutton — Former Senior Investigating Officer,
Metropolitan Police; expert commentator on the Stewart case.


•     Jack Hardy —
Press Association journalist who covered the Helen Bailey
investigation and trial.


•     Mavis
Drake — Neighbour and close friend of Helen Bailey
in Royston.


•     Trevor
McCallum — Close friend of Helen and her first
husband, John Sinfield.


•     Helen
Bailey — In archive video-blog material from
October 2015.



What you'll learn in this episode

•     How a Facebook group for the
bereaved became the meeting place that would change — and end —
Helen Bailey's life


•     What Kerry Daynes calls the
'predatory courtship' — how some offenders identify, isolate and
emotionally re-shape a grieving partner


•     Why Helen's friends were taken
aback by the man she chose to marry — and why their unease did
not, on its own, protect her


•     The chronic fatigue, confusion and
memory loss Helen began suffering in the months before her
disappearance — and what toxicology reports revealed


•     How police pieced together what
happened on April 11th 2016 — and why Stewart's own account of
his fiancée's disappearance kept shifting


•     The reason a passing remark from a
neighbour became one of the most important moments in the case


•     Why detectives, by the end of this
episode, were no longer sure that Helen was Ian Stewart's first
victim



Relevant links and further reading

•     Kerry Daynes — Dark Side of
the Mind (Endeavour, 2019) What Lies Buried (Endeavour,
2021)


•     Faking It (Warner Bros.
Discovery) — some interviews in this episode were originally
featured in the series. Watch
on discoveryplus.com.


•     https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/23/helen-bailey-murder-ian-stewart-jailed-years-killing-author —
The Guardian: contemporary trial coverage and verdict


•     https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4105158/ —
Daily Mail: 'Partner of children's author Helen Bailey goes on
trial'


•     Helen Bailey — When Bad
Things Happen in Good Bikinis (Blink, 2015) — her own
writing on grief and the early days with Ian Stewart


•     Support for those bereaved by
homicide — Victim
Support • AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal
Domestic Abuse)



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Visit theprofiler.co.uk

For an exclusive filmed interview with Kerry
Daynes on the cases behind the series — including
untold detail on the Ian Stewart story -
visit theprofiler.co.uk. Subscribe to the
newsletter for case updates, parole-hearing alerts, and early
access to episodes.



Credits

•     Presented by Kerry Daynes


•     Produced by Shearwater Media


•     Executive producers: Jeff Anderson
and Steve Anderson


•     Editing & Music by Rob Warner



Content note

This episode contains descriptions of homicide, the drugging and
isolation of a partner, and the discovery of human remains.
Listener discretion advised. If you have been affected by the
issues raised, speak to Victim Support (0808 168 9111) and the
Samaritans (116 123).


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