Found Deceased UK - William "Bill" Taylor, 70, Gosmore, Hertfordshire, 3 June 2018

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Seems more likely he was gone before the 4th then. No medical issues reported though
 
Must have gone out of the house some time after 9.30pm on the 3rd, when his grandson left. ( if that timing is accurate ).

If the friend knew nothing until he got up on the 4th, then it seems WT left after the friend was in bed and asleep.

Did he hear a noise outside and go out to investigate ? or did someone call round.
Am ruling out a phone call as police would have record of that.

A pity the friend didn't hear anything.
 
Arrests!

Police arrest four over murder of missing farmer, 69, who vanished from his £1.2million home more than three months ago

A murder investigation has now been launched and four people - a 52-year-old woman and three men, aged 18, 22 and 53 have all been arrested on suspicion of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Click to expand...

Police arrest four over murder of missing farmer, 69, who vanished three months ago | Daily Mail Online

Bill is still missing though.

To clarify - these are British arrests based on reasonable grounds for suspicion. It does not necessarily follow that charges will be laid against any or all of the arrestees.
 
Speculating who the arrestees are: If Bill is 69, it seems very unlikely that either of the two older persons arrested are one of his children, but one of them may be a much sibling and his or her family. I'm guessing this is a couple and their two now adult children, so some sort of family dispute seems likely.

The alternative, until we know more about them, is that this is some sort of rural dispute involving Travellers. This might blow up if Bill had been trying to stop Travellers poaching or otherwise carrying on illegal activities on his land, but Traveller culture tends to keep women in the background and under the thumb rather than involving them in menz stuff.
 
Agreed with the ages given it is most likely not family. With the earlier arson it is more likely to be some sort of dispute. I wonder if the friend who stayed there was able to give any background as to a possible prior dispute
 
They have been bailed.

Three men and a woman arrested on suspicion of murdering a farmer have been released on bail.

Police arrested three men aged 18, 22 and 53, and a 52-year-old woman yesterday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, arson and conspiracy to commit arson.

All of the suspects are from the Hitchin area.

Following the arrests a Gosmore resident said: ‘You would see him (Mr Taylor) in the village and he always had a smile. He would call into the local pub, but he wasn’t a drinker. ‘He was never one to sound off about himself. He was just a nice chap.’


Read more: Four people arrested on suspicion of murdering missing farmer | Metro News
 
Those arrested include Bill's ex-wife and his sons. The fourth arrestee has not been named.

Millionaire farmer's ex-wife and his two sons are among four people quizzed over his murder as underwater search teams scour her land for his remains

The former wife of a millionaire farmer who went missing three months ago was arrested for his murder, along with their two sons.

William 'Bill' Taylor vanished from his £1.2million home in Gosmore, Hertfordshire, at around 9pm on June 3 - just days before his 70th birthday.

It has now emerged that Angela Taylor, 52, was quizzed over his disappearance, along with sons Michael, 22, and William, 18. They were bailed today. A 53-year-old man was also bailed.
Click to expand...

Ex-wife of millionaire farmer and his two sons are among four people quizzed over his murder | Daily Mail Online
 
Interesting snippet in the Mail report above:

A neighbour said that ex-wife Angela was now seeing another man.

They said: 'I know she's been seeing a new guy, a gypsy.'
Click to expand...

Also that the ex-wife also has a son aged 26, Gavin Foulds, who is presumably from another marriage or relationship.
 
Presumably upon his death his sons would inherit his estate?

Hmmm.
 
chimpface said:
Presumably upon his death his sons would inherit his estate?

Hmmm.
Click to expand...

NOT if they were involved in his death. UK law does not permit anyone to benefit from committing a crime so if they were convicted of any offence in relation to his death they would be automatically barred from receiving anything from the estate.
 
MelmothTheLost said:
NOT if they were involved in his death. UK law does not permit anyone to benefit from committing a crime so if they were convicted of any offence in relation to his death they would be automatically barred from receiving anything from the estate.
Click to expand...

Oh you are quite right. I was just hinting at the fact a millionaire disappears and his sons and ex-wife are arrested. Sounds like the motivation was money.
 
chimpface said:
Oh you are quite right. I was just hinting at the fact a millionaire disappears and his sons and ex-wife are arrested. Sounds like the motivation was money.
Click to expand...

Money does seem to be the most likely, yes. I would assume (maybe wrongly) that when Bill and his former wife divorced he changed his will to cut her out of it. She would have received a divorce settlement and that should have been the end of her claim on his property. If so, then his sons would obviously inherit so if the ex-wife was hoping to gain anything by his death she would be entirely dependant on the sons sharing the inheritance with her. It's very easy to imagine that agreements were made amongst them but that one or more parties decided not to abide by them, eg the sons decided not to share the estate with her after all. It's a recipe for major fallings-out.

I want to know more about the ex-wife's current "gypsy" boyfriend and what role he might have played in Bill's disappearance. If "gypsy" means "Traveller" in this case, it's very possible the boyfriend had contacts who could make a body disappear quite effectively.
 
Another snippet from the DM article, as posted above by Melmoth.

The Mill Farm, which police are said to be combing, has approximately 150 acres of land.

Detectives have also begun dredging a pond close. Underwater searches were also concentrated at the farm, which is two miles away from Mr Taylor's home.

One of the corner barns appears to be the main hub for the police search, but other properties have also been examined.

Ex-wife of millionaire farmer and his two sons are among four people quizzed over his murder | Daily Mail Online
 
Today's update re the search. I had not realised the * pond* was that big.

Police divers are continuing to search for the body of a missing millionaire farmer in his wife's pond - after questioning her and their two sons over his murder.

Underwater search teams are trawling the 100m-long stretch of water in the hunt for William 'Bill' Taylor, who hasn't been seen for more than three months.

Police search ex-wife's home for body of missing farmer | Daily Mail Online
 
Alyce said:
Today's update re the search. I had not realised the * pond* was that big.

Police divers are continuing to search for the body of a missing millionaire farmer in his wife's pond - after questioning her and their two sons over his murder.

Underwater search teams are trawling the 100m-long stretch of water in the hunt for William 'Bill' Taylor, who hasn't been seen for more than three months.

Police search ex-wife's home for body of missing farmer | Daily Mail Online
Click to expand...

I've been struggling to work out exactly where this farm of hers is but I finally found it.

Google Maps

If you look at the map view there is a body of water nearby called Charlton Mill Pond which is much more than 100m long but maybe her portion of it is the 100m.

What I notice is that the land is down to pasture which would make it very difficult to bury a body on it without leaving a fairly obvious trace at the surface.
 
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