Tetra Pak heir Hans Kristian Rausing has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of his wife Eva Rausing. He is currently being treated for alcohol withdrawal.
Tetra Pak heir Hans Kristian Rausing has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of his wife Eva Rausing, an inquest heard today.
Police are still waiting to question the 49-year-old after interviews were suspended on Tuesday so he could be treated for alcohol withdrawal.
The mother-of-four’s body was discovered after her husband, Tetra Pak heir Hans Kristian Rausing, 49, was stopped by police officers in Wandsworth, south London, after being spotted driving erratically.
Mr Rausing, whose family is worth an estimated £4.5 billion and were ranked as Britain’s 12th richest in last year’s Sunday Times Rich List, is being represented 7/7 barrister Neil Saunders QC.
A post-mortem has been carried out by Home Office pathologist Nat Carey, in the presence of defence pathologist Simon Poole, but no obvious cause of death has been found.
Further tests including toxicology are pending.
Detective Inspector Sharon Marman told Westminster Coroner’s Court today: “We have not yet been in a position to interview Mr Rausing. He has been arrested on suspicion of her murder and we await notification of when he would be fit to be interviewed by police.”
Outlining the facts of the case, she added: “On Monday July 9 this year police had the occasion to stop Hans Rausing driving a car in Wandsworth.
“The officer suspected that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As a result he was arrested and his car was searched.
“Within the car a small amount of drugs were found and he was taken back to Wandsworth police station.
“An authority was granted to search his home address. During the course of the search officers found the apparently lifeless body of a female in one of the bedrooms.
“That female has been identified as Eva Louise Rausing.”
The court was told Mrs Rausing’s father Thomas Kemeny supplied identifying details to the coroner.
Deputy coroner Shirley Radcliffe will review the case at a private hearing in October.
It is thought police are investigating how long Mrs Rausing was dead before she was found dead in her £70million home in Cadogan Place, Chelsea, west London. It is thought it could have been up to a week.
Police have been questioning members of staff at their Cadogan Place home and reviewing CCTV tapes in efforts to establish when she was last seen alive.
The couple’s drug addiction has been well documented over the years and recent photos appeared to show the pair in a fragile state.
Today it was reported that Mrs Rausing was monitored by a team of former SAS operatives to stop her from buying drugs before she died.
The family of the billionairess were reportedly so worried about her habit, they employed an eight-man team of former SAS soldiers to keep her under surveillance, according to the Daily Mirror.
The newspaper reported one of the specialists recruited to disrupt her meetings with dealers was paid £100,000 a year.
One told the Mirror: “We followed her covertly for as long as possible until we knew she was about to buy drugs and then we would disrupt it by beeping horns or walking up to the car and staring.
“Most times the scum who were selling the stuff were terrified and drove off.
“On more than one occasion we called police and told them we were witnessing an open drug deal. The aim was to protect Mrs Rausing from herself. But we couldn’t physically stop her going out at night.”
Her mother, Nancy Kemeny, told the Telegraph that Mrs Rausing had been due to enter a rehabilitation clinic in California before her death.
Mrs Kemeny said: “I love my daughter more than anything else in the world.
“They were going to go to America. Both of them were going to go.
“They were getting ready to go. Her husband had his passport and they were getting ready to go back to California. We had high hopes.”
Speaking from her home in South Caroline, in the US, she said she believed her daughter’s death was linked to a heart condition exacerbated by flying.