Ian Stewart has been found guilty by a jury of murdering his partner, Royston children’s author Helen Bailey.

Stewart, 56, drugged 51-year-old Helen for months before dumping her body in a cesspit beneath their home in Baldock Road, along with her beloved dachshund Boris.

A jury at St Albans Crown Court today returned a verdict of guilty on charges of murder, preventing legal burial and three counts of perverting the course of justice.

Stewart, who is originally from Letchworth, had reported Helen missing on April 15, before being arrested on suspicion of murder on July 11. He was then rearrested on July 15, after the bodies of Helen and Boris were found in the cesspit.

Stewart told the court that two men he identified only as ‘Joe and Nick’ – associates of her late husband John Sinfield, he said – had kidnapped Helen before returning and dumping her body in the cesspit without his knowledge.

More to follow.