The killer of children’s author Helen Bailey has been arrested over the death of his first wife, according to reports.
Police said a 57-year-old man from Bedford was detained on suspicion of murder on Tuesday in connection with the death of Diane Stewart in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, in 2010.
At the time she was married to Ian Stewart, who was convicted last year of murdering Ms Bailey, his fiancee, in 2016.
Following the court case, police announced a new investigation into the death of Mrs Stewart, who was found in the garden of the house she shared with Stewart in June 2010.
An inquest at the time concluded she died of natural causes as a result of epilepsy.
On Wednesday, Hertfordshire Police said the arrested man had been released under investigation.
A spokesman said: “Detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit have arrested a man following a re-examination of 47-year-old Diane Stewart’s death at her home in Bassingbourn on June 25 2010.
“The 57-year-old man from Bedford was arrested on Tuesday August 21 and questioned on suspicion of murder before being released under investigation.”
Stewart was jailed for 34 years at St Albans Crown Court for smothering Ms Bailey.
The court was told he spent weeks poisoning his bride-to-be with prescription sedatives before smothering her, in a plot motivated by greed.
The Electra Brown writer was dragged into a cesspit below the garage of the couple’s luxury home, where she remained hidden for three months.