A BRIT cop was found dead in prison just days after his wife’s body was discovered covered in blood in their Barbados hotel room.
Ex-Det Insp Warren Arter, 54, is suspected of taking his own life at HMP Wandsworth on July 12 last year.
Central NewsRebekah Arter was found dead in a hotel room in Barbados – days before her husband died[/caption]
His death came just two weeks after wife Rebekah Arter, 47, was found dead in a blood-soaked room in the Caribbean.
An inquest heard Arter gave “different accounts” of what happened leading up to the tragic discovery.
He claimed he slept for 18 hours and expressed concerns to Rebekah’s daughter-in-law Lacey Usher that he had been spiked.
Lacey also told the court that Arter sent a video to her friend showing Rebekah’s naked body in the hotel room.
Arter had tried to kill himself in Barbados but was arrested and brought back to the UK on “non-homicide” charges.
The couple had met in 2006 when Warren was investigating allegations of domestic violence made against her then husband.
She “changed drastically” during her relationship with Arter and did not want to go on the holiday to Barbados.
Arter would abuse her, watch porn films in front of her and have cocaine dealers calling at the house, the court in Croydon heard.
Assistant Coroner Andrew Harris said: “Rebekah’s death was reported to this court in July 2024, we were informed she was found dead in a hotel in Barbados on 28 June 2024.
“We were informed that her husband tried to commit suicide in Barbados. He was flown to the UK where he was arrested by police on non-homicide charges.
“I learnt that he was found dead in prison in this country on 11 July and his inquest is to be heard at a later date in another jurisdiction.
“When this matter came to the attention of the senior coroner, one member of the family had expressed concern that the death may be related to drugs and alcohol.
“Another thought that there may have been actions that might amount to unlawful killing, and the senior coroner opening the inquest suspected a possibility of unnatural death.”
He said the Barbados pathologist found no evidence of violence and the tragedy was not regarded as a homicide.
Rebekah’s cause of death remains unknown but her hair samples indicated “the occasional use of cocaine”.
At the time of her death, allegations of coercive control by Arter were being investigated by police.
He was sacked in 2023 for gross misconduct following an disciplinary tribunal centred around his drug abuse and orgies.
The ex-detective spent seven years on full pay before the hearing, which heard his misconduct stretched over 13 years.
He was found dead in his cell two days after he appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with misconduct in public office, between 29 January, 2010, and 1 January, 2023
Her son Elliot Usher said when he first met Arter aged seven, he felt “quite secure” around Warren “because he was a police officer”.
He told how Arter later used “disgusting” names to describe his mum and that the cop would control her.
Elliot said this included being in charge of her dress sense, which changed from jumpers and jeans to “revealing skimpy outfits”.
He asked for the hearing to be adjourned and for the case to be designated an Article Two matter under the European Convention of Human Rights.
This includes a positive obligation for the state to safeguard life by law.
He said: “Mr Arter was a police officer who had been on suspension for years yet retained influence and connection within his old command unit.
“The Met Police, its directorate of professional standards, the IOPC all had the opportunity to intervene and failed to do so.
“These failings arguably contributed to her death – there is clear evidence of systemic failings by the police and its oversight bodies which is why I submit this hearing should be adjourned.”
Elliot continued: “My Mum was let down in life, please do not let her be let down in death.”
The coroner said whether the matter can be viewed as a systemic failing and therefore an Article 2 matter “can be reviewed at the and of the inquest”.
The inquest continues tomorrow.
Central NewsArter is believed to have taken his own life[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
