Heiress’ Husband May Have Lived With Her Dead Body for a Week
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Alan Davidson/WireImage(LONDON) — The husband of an American heiress, who was found dead at her London mansion, may have been living with her body for more than a week, according to reports.
Police are pouring through footage from surveillance cameras to establish who came and went from the London home where Eva Rausing, 48, was found dead on Monday and have questioned the couple’s staff members, the London Evening Standard reported.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department declined to discuss Rausing’s death, saying authorities were awaiting toxicology results in the “unexplained” death of the 48-year-old heiress, who was a philanthropist and friend of Prince Charles.
A post-mortem held Tuesday at Westminster Mortuary did not establish a formal cause of death, police said.
On Monday, Rausing’s husband, Hans Kristian Rausing, was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs, prompting police to search the Belgravia home he shared with his wife, a police spokesperson said.
Metropolitan police did not name Hans Kristian Rausing, however they confirmed a 49-year-old man had been taken into custody regarding a woman’s death and possession of drugs.
Rausing was held at a south London police station, but is now receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment. Police declined to further discuss the situation.
Hans Kristian Rausing, who is Swedish, is an heir to the Tetra Pak food packaging empire. His father, Hans Rausing Sr., has an estimated net worth of $10 billion, according to Forbes’ 2010 rankings.
Eva Rausing was the daughter of Tom Kemeny, a former Pepsi executive.
The couple, who reportedly met at an American rehab center 25 years ago, were well known supporters of addiction-related charities, but continued to battle secret demons of their own.
Eva Rausing served as a co-patron, along with the Duchess of Cambridge, on the drug charity Action on Addiction. She was also a patron of the Mentor UK charity, a group that seeks to keep children away from alcohol and drugs.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio