A man who was arrested in Abergavenny and charged with murdering his partner and burying her in their £850,000 farmhouse garden three years earlier has been found dead in his prison cell.

Stuart Williamson, aged 56, was arrested in the town on October 30, 2021, 250 miles from the remote Norfolk property police had been searching since launching a ‘no body’ murder probe the previous week.

Detectives confirmed after he was charged that human remains had been found buried beside a garden shed at Meadow Farm in Colton, Norfolk, and they believed they were those of Diane Douglas, who had lived at the rented farmhouse she had shared with Williamson.

Officials have confirmed that Williamson, who had described himself as ‘happily retired’ on his Facebook page, died in custody at Norwich Prison on December 29. It is understood that he took his own life.

He had been due to appear at Norwich Crown Court on Friday, January 14, and was expected to deny murdering Diane Douglas in December 2018, when she would have been aged 55 or 56, but would accept killing her, a court previously heard.

Forensics officers found Diane’s remains buried in the garden of their farmhouse near Norwich, which he was sharing with a different partner.

The murder probe was sparked after Diane’s family reported her missing on October 21, when she had not been seen for a “significant period”.

Diane’s cause of death will require further post-mortem analysis due to her body being decomposed, Norfolk Police have said.

At a court hearing on November 2, Williamson’s lawyer submitted a prepared statement.

Referring to it, Judge Alice Robinson said: “There’s no dispute that the defendant killed Diane. The issues will revolve around any expert evidence about his state of mind at the time.”

Defending, Stephen Bailey said: “I’m not in the position to agree that he agrees that he killed her. It’s very likely that that admission will follow in due course.”

The court had set a provisional trial date for April 19.

A Norfolk Police spokesperson said last week: “Stuart Williamson, of Barford Road, Colton, was found dead in his prison cell at HMP Norwich on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 around 5pm. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.”

They added that a case was being prepared for the coroner.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Prisoner Stuart Williamson died at HMP Norwich on December 29. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”

The CPS and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman declined to comment.

Police launched a missing person probe initially, but escalated it to a murder investigation, despite there being no body at the time, before tracking Williamson down to Abergavenny and making an arrest.

Norfolk Police said afterwards: “Officers searching a property on the outskirts of Norwich as part of a ‘no-body’ murder investigation can confirm human remains have been found.

“Diane Douglas was reported missing on Thursday, October 21, 2021 by family members.

“Stuart Williamson, 56, and of Barford Road, Colton, is accused of murdering Diane between December 1-31 in 2018, when she would have been aged either 55 or 56.

“Williamson was arrested on Saturday, October 30, in Abergavenny, Wales, and was brought back to Norfolk for questioning before being charged with murder.”

At the farmhouse, shocked neighbours looked on as forensic officers worked behind a white scene of crimes tent outside the three-bed property, which is 400 yards down a track and around five miles from the nearest main road.