Ian Stewart: Accused cremated wife to hide evidence, court told

Diane Stewart died at her home in the village of Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, in 2010

A man on trial for murdering his wife was accused in court of having her cremated "so there would be very little that could come back and bite you".

Ian Stewart, 61, denies killing Diane Stewart, 47, at their home in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire in 2010.

The cause of Mrs Stewart's death was recorded at the time as sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

Her death was investigated after Mr Stewart was convicted of the 2016 murder of his fiancée Helen Bailey.

Mr Stewart was cross-examined by Stuart Trimmer QC, prosecuting, at his trial at Huntingdon Crown Court.

The prosecutor said: "You had Diane Stewart cremated so there would be very little that could come back and bite you."

Referring to the couple's sons, Mr Stewart replied: "The cremation was a joint decision with the boys and if I was thinking that way I wouldn't have agreed to keep the brain and heart."

Mr Trimmer said his 999 call in 2010, in which he said his wife had had a fit, was "just a lying charade", adding: "You're a devious man, Mr Stewart."

The defendant replied: "No."

Ian Stewart was jailed in 2017 for the murder of his partner, Helen Bailey

A neuropathologist was asked to examine preserved parts of Mrs Stewart's brain, which had been donated to medical science.

He said he found evidence of a lack of oxygen to her brain for between 35 minutes and an hour before her death.

Earlier in the trial jurors heard a forensic pathologist found it was most likely Ms Bailey, a successful children's author, was suffocated while she was sedated by drugs.

Mr Trimmer asked Mr Stewart: "Is it not very surprising that both Helen Bailey and Diane Stewart are individuals whose death was caused by a similar mechanism in the view of the professionals?"

The defendant replied: "Only some of the professionals."

Mr Trimmer accused Mr Stewart of being "a man capable of extreme and callous violence".

Mr Stewart replied: "No."

The court also heard from Mr Stewart's father, Keith Stewart.

The 90-year-old told jurors: "I don't think he's guilty. I don't think he's capable of doing something like that."

Keith Stewart described his son's relationship with his wife as "perfect, I never saw or heard any disagreements, ever".

He also said Mrs Stewart was "too good for him in many ways" and would frequently take the defendant to hospital for a long-term muscle condition.

The trial continues.