Man who killed author Helen Bailey ‘tried to save’ first wife he’s accused of murdering

Ian Stewart’s first wife’s cause of death was recorded as sudden unexplained death in epilepsy

Diane Stewart died in the couple’s home in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire in 2010 (PA)

A man serving a life sentence for the murder of children’s author Helen Bailey has told a jury he “tried to save” his first wife after finding her collapsed at their home.

Ian Stewart, 61, is accused of killing Diane Stewart, 47, at their home in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, in 2010.

He told jurors that he returned from a shopping trip to find his wife unconscious in the garden and then tried to resuscitate her himself, before contacting neighbours and calling emergency services.

The defendant told Huntingdon Crown Court that the couple’s elder son, Jamie, had his driving test on 25 June and left that morning, while their younger son, Oliver, was at school.

Mr Stewart said he drove to Tesco to buy food to “celebrate” after his son’s driving test, but realised he had forgotten his wallet and returned home to look for it. Upon his return, he found his wife “crumpled on the floor.”

Giving evidence to the court, he said: “The first thing I did was try to get her in the recovery position. That was hard. I couldn’t get her legs out from under her.”

He “tried to clear her mouth”, adding: “How do you describe it…sick, just a mess, basically froth.”

Mr Stewart put his wife in the position for CPR and did “30 compressions and then mouth to mouth”, before going over to a house opposite where a doctor and nurse lived.

He continued that he was “obviously panicking” and “had left Diane on her own at this time”. With no answer at his neighbour’s house, Mr Stewart returned to his garden where his wife was still lying. After trying CPR again, he made the 999 call, telling operators his wife had a fit.

While Mrs Stewart did have epilepsy, her husband said he “never, ever saw Diane fit”.

Amjad Malik QC, defending, asked Mr Stewart if he was “trying to help Diane”, to which he replied: “I was trying to save her life, obviously trying to get her to breath again.”

Mrs Stewart’s cause of death was recorded in 2010 as sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (Sudep).

Police began an investigation after a jury found Stewart guilty in 2017 of murdering his fiancee, children’s author Helen Bailey, the year before.

Mr Stewart denies murdering his wife. The trial continues.