GUILTY UK - Helen Bailey, 51, Royston, 11 April 2016 #10

[jessie]

I've copied this from neteditor's post for easy reading. It's very grim sounding and I am content and rather satisfied to imagine IS experiencing this.

http://www.firsttimeinprison.co.uk/f...oom-to-prison/
When you are sentenced you will be taken straight out of the back of the courtroom, from the dock, down to the cells. You will not be able to see any friends or family and you will need to have taken with you into the dock anything you want to take to prison.

When you are first taken underneath the court, you will have all possessions taken off you and logged. You will not see these again for a while, possibly quite a few days.

If they offer you food, take it, as you won’t know when the next is coming.
Once your possessions have been taken you will then be taken into a cell within this area to wait for transfer – this could be on your own or in with others. The timing of this transfer will be unspecified and you will get no indication of how things [/I]are going. At some point your solicitor and barrister will (probably) be allowed to talk to you in a holding room, provided they have been patient enough to wait at court. Then you can discuss anything such as appeal, what the sentence might mean, and pass any messages. You will probably also meet someone from the probation service who will mostly be checking your mental state.

You will then wait for transfer. Probably for most of the day. If they offer you food, take it, as you won’t know when the next is coming.

You will then be taken into a small van with locked cells in to transfer to your first prison. If you phone the court the day beforehand they will probably be able to tell you what prison this will be, as they tend to use one “holding” prison at a given time (although this is not always the case).

When you get to the prison you could wait on the van within the gates for a while as they process others. It depends how busy the prison is.

When you are let in you will be moved from holding room to hold room and in between you will be called to various places so that:

Officers can take details from you (several times)
You can be stripped and searched and given your prison clothes
You can be given your bundle of blankets and plastic cup, plate, etc.
You can be seen by the prison doctor
You can be allocated a cell and asked any questions about particular issues you may have in the prison
You will then hang around some more until they can allocate you a cell which you will be taken to. Do not expect this allocation, in terms of your cellmate, to be thought through. Consider yourself lucky if it is.

…you may be moved to a new cell several times, and your cellmate may change.
Considering by now it is probably pretty late, your cellmate may not speak a word of English, and there has been no time for any “induction” or anything, you will now be locked in a cell with absolutely no idea how anything works. And you will (rightly) feel like you are now expected to just get on with it, as the next time your cell door is opened, none of the guards will really even realise that you are new. So you will have to work out if that door is being opened for “exercise” (a walk in the yard), to use the showers, get your food, etc. Obviously if your cellmate speaks English that will help a lot, otherwise you have to follow everyone else and hope to figure it out.

One last thing to remember, once you have settled and figured it out, is that you may be moved to a new cell several times, and your cellmate may change. This is always an apprehensive time as it’s almost like starting over again, so it is best to be ready for

 

[SweetCinnamon]

A good site re prisons is 'Inside Time' written largely by prisoners, as to what prison life's really like. Bedford seems to be largely a remand prison chosen for proximity to the Crown Court. I had Whitemoor pegged for him. He's a murderer and would do it again given a chance. Cat A for him. Whitemoor had a bit of a gruesome reputation I seem to recall from odd press reports. Thank you to all fellow WS posters for your kindness when I got 'too involved'.


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[DollyDiamond]

I doubt anyone in the big house will fancy a go on Stewart, what with his Chalfonts, but I hope they are all treated to the sound of the squeaky-voiced coward sobbing in his cell for many nights to come. Even if it will only be from self-pity.


Ha! Ha! Ha! The Gormless Greedy Hemorrhoid-Infested Widower sobbing into his pillow every night, what a wonderful image! He has a mind-bogglingly miserable existence to look forward to now - will he even get any visits or letters? His parents won't be around forever, his sons don't want to know him and he never had any friends to speak of before he was a convicted killer. I reckon his best hope of company is a visit from his imaginary pals Nick and Joe!

 

[snoopydog]

I doubt anyone in the big house will fancy a go on Stewart, what with his Chalfonts, but I hope they are all treated to the sound of the squeaky-voiced coward sobbing in his cell for many nights to come. Even if it will only be from self-pity.


Ha! Ha! Ha! The Gormless Greedy Hemorrhoid-Infested Widower sobbing into his pillow every night, what a wonderful image! He has a mind-bogglingly miserable existence to look forward to now - will he even get any visits or letters? His parents won't be around forever, his sons don't want to know him and he never had any friends to speak of before he was a convicted killer. I reckon his best hope of company is a visit from his imaginary pals Nick and Joe!

I can imagine he'll receive quite a bit of hate mail....


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[Florrie]

I've copied this from neteditor's post for easy reading. It's very grim sounding and I am content and rather satisfied to imagine IS experiencing this.

http://www.firsttimeinprison.co.uk/f...oom-to-prison/
When you are sentenced you will be taken straight out of the back of the courtroom, from the dock, down to the cells. You will not be able to see any friends or family and you will need to have taken with you into the dock anything you want to take to prison.

When you are first taken underneath the court, you will have all possessions taken off you and logged. You will not see these again for a while, possibly quite a few days.

If they offer you food, take it, as you won’t know when the next is coming.
Once your possessions have been taken you will then be taken into a cell within this area to wait for transfer – this could be on your own or in with others. The timing of this transfer will be unspecified and you will get no indication of how things [/I]are going. At some point your solicitor and barrister will (probably) be allowed to talk to you in a holding room, provided they have been patient enough to wait at court. Then you can discuss anything such as appeal, what the sentence might mean, and pass any messages. You will probably also meet someone from the probation service who will mostly be checking your mental state.

You will then wait for transfer. Probably for most of the day. If they offer you food, take it, as you won’t know when the next is coming.

You will then be taken into a small van with locked cells in to transfer to your first prison. If you phone the court the day beforehand they will probably be able to tell you what prison this will be, as they tend to use one “holding” prison at a given time (although this is not always the case).

When you get to the prison you could wait on the van within the gates for a while as they process others. It depends how busy the prison is.

When you are let in you will be moved from holding room to hold room and in between you will be called to various places so that:

Officers can take details from you (several times)
You can be stripped and searched and given your prison clothes
You can be given your bundle of blankets and plastic cup, plate, etc.
You can be seen by the prison doctor
You can be allocated a cell and asked any questions about particular issues you may have in the prison
You will then hang around some more until they can allocate you a cell which you will be taken to. Do not expect this allocation, in terms of your cellmate, to be thought through. Consider yourself lucky if it is.

…you may be moved to a new cell several times, and your cellmate may change.
Considering by now it is probably pretty late, your cellmate may not speak a word of English, and there has been no time for any “induction” or anything, you will now be locked in a cell with absolutely no idea how anything works. And you will (rightly) feel like you are now expected to just get on with it, as the next time your cell door is opened, none of the guards will really even realise that you are new. So you will have to work out if that door is being opened for “exercise” (a walk in the yard), to use the showers, get your food, etc. Obviously if your cellmate speaks English that will help a lot, otherwise you have to follow everyone else and hope to figure it out.

One last thing to remember, once you have settled and figured it out, is that you may be moved to a new cell several times, and your cellmate may change. This is always an apprehensive time as it’s almost like starting over again, so it is best to be ready for

Oh that has done me good. Goodbye and good riddance to him. Just want to hear a minimum 30 year sentence tomorrow now.


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[Alyce]

Just found this. No hospitals but sick bays. If required prisoner patients are taken to hospital https://www.gov.uk/life-in-prison/healthcare-in-prison

Have to feel sorry for those future hospital patients - being bored to tears by having IS in the next bed to them, describing his ailments ad infinitum.

 

[DollyDiamond]

I may have postponed drinking my champagne today, but guess who got to enjoy finishing off her sausages in celebration of the Guilty verdicts?

 

[Tortoise]

Do prisons have their own hospitals/sick bays or are prisoners sent to a general hospital? Just wondered.

Did you not see in the news yesterday that a convicted murderer serving 30 years escaped (with assistance by ambush) from a TAXI that took him to hospital for an appointment. You couldn't make it up. I haven't read that they've caught him yet. Probably out of the country already.

 

[LozDa]

I may have postponed drinking my champagne today, but guess who got to enjoy finishing off her sausages in celebration of the Guilty verdicts?

Please dear god, put Dolly on Instagram. I love her. Truly love her.

 

[Duchy]

A reminder of aggravating and mitigating factors

Having set the minimum term, the judge will then take into account any aggravating or mitigating factors that may
amend the minimum term either up or down.
The judge may also reduce the minimum term to take account of a guilty plea. The final minimum term will take
into account all the factors of the case and can be of any length.
Aggravating and mitigating factors


Aggravating factors are things that make an offence even more serious and increase the minimum term. These
include:
 a significant degree of planning or premeditation;
 the fact that the victim was particularly vulnerable because of age or disability;
 mental or physical suffering inflicted on the victim before death;
 the abuse of a position of trust;
 the use of duress or threats to enable the offence to take place;
 the fact that the victim was providing a public service or performing a public duty; and
 concealing, destroying or dismembering the body.

Mitigating factors are things that may reduce the minimum term. These include:
 an intention to cause serious bodily harm rather than to kill;
 lack of premeditation;
 the offender suffering from a mental disorder or mental disability which lowered his degree of blame;
 the fact that the offender was provoked (for example, by prolonged stress);
 the fact that the offender acted to any extent in self-defence or in fear of violence;
 a belief by the offender that the murder was an act of mercy; and
 the age of the offender.
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/FINAL-Murder-sentencing-leaflet-for-web1.pdf

The crime ticked all but one of the aggravating factor boxes.

 

[Joely 123]

While I'm feeling contemplative (and a little bit soppy) I just want to say thank you so much to all you sleuths for being such a welcoming, non-judgemental bunch. I was so thrilled to find a group of people who are also captivated by treading the lines between horror and intrigue, finding out what motivates people and what dreadful and amazing deeds our fellow humans are capable of. It's been wonderful to find a group of thoughtful, respectful posters who can maintain differences while not resorting to insults and attacks. I am so grateful for the way that jumping in is accepted, and that being new here isn't a barrier to joining in fully and being heard.

Thanks all, it has been so positive finding you. These crimes could sometimes eat me from within, and the husband is a sensitive soul who doesn't like to think about the darker side of human nature, so to have somewhere to share my thoughts has been really cathartic.

Obviously I wish Helen and Boris were in a little flat in Hampstead, with Helen bashing out self deprecating and hilariously devastating blog posts about the true nature of the man she thought was her happy ending. But we can't change history, and I know all of us won't forget Helen or Boris, and the person here who is the true loser is the man who took their lives without a thought for the consequences.

Squamous - I always say 'ditto' when I read your posts. And tonight, feeling sad and mixed up, I say Bravo to your words which reverberate my thoughts - and no doubt many others too.
I feel I could have been wishing for the 'happy ending' when IS was found Guilty. And, of course, it is the best, best outcome ever. But the details on Video of him sitting in Helen's chosen home to be with him whilst he slumped with weariness and lack of memory (making it up on the hoof) and then watching him at the tip discarding evidence to protect himself and seeing Helen happy with him, brings it to reality.
He murdered Helen and Boris whilst they trusted him.
His Sons have lost their home, their Father, their trust.
John Bailey losing his Sister, and looking after their Parents must be such a process of healing. Thankfully he has the Rev partner to be at home with tonight. I wonder where the boys are - and how they cope with the question of their Mum's death. Despite it being in their thoughts - the reality of hearing there shall be an Enquiry must be another cruel hit on their tumbling emotions.

In my contemplation too - i have met such bright stars on WS. I shall not be following other Trials .. but would love to stay in touch for Helen and Boris - and anything for Diane.

Thank you to all the 'wizard' WS - you are truly amazing in your work - and such beautiful people. x

 

[Alyce]

Tara has written a personal article about her experience of covering the trial


I had always been interested in covering a murder trial – but when I walked through the doors of St Albans Crown Court seven weeks ago I was more than a little nervous.

The first day at the court was hectic with not enough seats, more journalists than I had probably ever seen in one place, and a full five hours of manic typing for our live blog.

It turns out I soon got used to the manic typing – but never to the fact that this was such a gruesome story.

And when John Bailey (Ms Bailey’s brother) approached me, shook my hand and thanked me for my coverage of the case – I remembered all my work (and manic typing) was appreciated.



http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/an-unforgettable-chapter-life-news-12641334

 

[DollyDiamond]

Please dear god, put Dolly on Instagram. I love her. Truly love her.

Aww thanks! I think she's wonderful, but of course I am slightly biased! She's had even more cuddles than usual (if that's possible) since I learned of Helen and Boris' tragedy. I'm sure many of us have hugged our pets a bit tighter when thinking of little Boris.

 

[Alyce]

In addition to the new probe into his first wife, Stewart also faces a financial inquiry to ensure he did not profit from Ms Bailey's murder.


http://www.classicfm.com/radio/news/uk-world/helen-bailey-murder-police-to-probe-death-of/

 

[MillyM]

Snipped from your post Michelle

I think you are aware that O could simply not be present in the court as the verdict was delivered.

I did not know that. I had wondered why all the reports said IS looked at Jamie and did not mention Oliver. Now I understand.

So did Oliver stand outside the court room when the verdict was announced? He was shown leaving with the brother on TV.

 

[flightpath]

I added the part about malingering but I really think it could be both. Think of his whole "when I had cancer" story when he never even had cancer. That seems for more for attention than financial gain... unless he was hoping that he did have something serious that he could use to claim DLA.

No indeed his cancer scare was laughably mundane - in fact he had piles! What a drama queen.

 

[MillyM]

"Speaking in a Channel 5 documentary: Murdered By My Fiance to be aired on Thursday night, friend and neighbour Margaret Holsen sobbed: “Right until the last moment, I was hoping she would still be found alive.

“That’s all you can do is hope.

“The worst thing we could have feared had happened.

“It really impacted on me, and it still does, because I’ve been texting her, trying to get her to contact me only to find that there she was about 40 yards away from me.”

In one of the first insights into what friends of the couple thought about the case, Margaret, who had sent a string of texts to her friend while she was missing, said: "I really can't imagine what must have been going through his head to have done such a thing.

"He's obviously a different person to the person I thought he was.

"Somebody that you are close to, it's just something unimaginable."

She added: "It was such a waste of life. Helen had so much to give."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/29292...re-she-lay-dead-in-septic-tank-40-yards-away/

 

[DollyDiamond]

Squamous - I always say 'ditto' when I read your posts. And tonight, feeling sad and mixed up, I say Bravo to your words which reverberate my thoughts - and no doubt many others too.
I feel I could have been wishing for the 'happy ending' when IS was found Guilty. And, of course, it is the best, best outcome ever. But the details on Video of him sitting in Helen's chosen home to be with him whilst he slumped with weariness and lack of memory (making it up on the hoof) and then watching him at the tip discarding evidence to protect himself and seeing Helen happy with him, brings it to reality.
He murdered Helen and Boris whilst they trusted him.
His Sons have lost their home, their Father, their trust.
John Bailey losing his Sister, and looking after their Parents must be such a process of healing. Thankfully he has the Rev partner to be at home with tonight. I wonder where the boys are - and how they cope with the question of their Mum's death. Despite it being in their thoughts - the reality of hearing there shall be an Enquiry must be another cruel hit on their tumbling emotions.

In my contemplation too - i have met such bright stars on WS. I shall not be following other Trials .. but would love to stay in touch for Helen and Boris - and anything for Diane.

Thank you to all the 'wizard' WS - you are truly amazing in your work - and such beautiful people. x

I can only echo your brilliant posts. I didn't realise how emotionally involved I'd get following this case. To have WS friends on side to offer mutual support as we struggled to process this outrage was a comfort. We were told a while ago that Helen's brother had visited these threads and found some comfort from reading our words of support. If that is the case I am glad he knows we stand shoulder to shoulder with him and feel really humbled that we were able to help Helen's family in some small way.

I won't be following any other cases in the forseeable future. A very special group of people gathered here for Helen and Boris and I feel really privileged to have been a tiny part of it. Helen had a great gift for friendship and I truly believe she worked her magic here, her love, light and positivity live on.

 

[MillyM]

"Helen’s mum Eileen Bailey, 89, said: “We know now what *happened with the death of his first wife and that he is under suspicion.

“But no matter what happens to him, whatever sentence he gets, it will not bring Helen back. You cannot describe what we have been through, it is beyond words really.”

Detective Chief Inspector Jerome Kent and his team of 27 are currently studying toxicology, cell and tissue tests from Diane’s postmortem examination.

They are also looking at statements, speaking with friends and family and checking what medication would have been in the house at the time.

Det Chief Insp Kent said: “It’s only right we re-examine that death. When someone who is charged with murder has a previous wife who died, you would expect the police to *consider a re-examination."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/murdered-millionaire-author-helen-baileys-9900235

 

[Moll]

I still don't understand why the cadaver dog's indications were made so little of by the prosecution. As Tortoise said earlier, that evidence did raise the question of why the police didn't go in harder then,