London - Detectives investigating the death of a MasterChef contestant were still searching for answers on Sunday night after arresting an elderly man.
Talented cook Helen Barker, 38, was found dead at her Wiltshire home before a man, 78, was held on suspicion of killing her.
Her family said she had appeared on Masterchef, though no date was given.
Neighbours said forensic detectives had been at the crime scene ‘for days’ while a police guard was in place outside the semi-detached family home around the clock.
But it is still not known how she died. The suspect - who was known to the chef but not related - was also later released on bail after his arrest on suspicion of manslaughter and causing actual bodily harm.
Mrs Barker’s family have said they are ‘devastated’ by her ‘untimely’ death and paid tribute to the ‘bright and much loved young woman’. In a statement they said she was an ‘accomplished cook’ who once appeared on BBC’s MasterChef.
Her body was discovered at her home in the county town of Trowbridge on Thursday morning.
Masterchef contestant death: Tribute to Helen Barker https://t.co/8j57XlVxGx
— Entertainment News (@Entertain_BWR) September 12, 2016
Neighbours said a man in his 40s - who they assumed was her partner - turned up at her home soon after ‘in tears’. But residents of the quiet cul-de-sac of Shearman Street said the cook ‘kept herself to herself’ since moving into the property years around five years ago.
One neighbour, 27, said: ‘I knew it was more than a simple fatality by the amount of questions they asked and forensics and police were in there for days, with a 24-hour guard at the door.’
He said the man in his 40s visited the house around midnight most nights and had ‘as normal’ the night before her death. The neighbour saw him return ‘in tears’ after the body had been discovered.
He added: ‘Nobody really knew her at all. The first thing I knew was I got a knock on the door the morning they found her from the police asking if I had heard anything.’
Police said on Sunday that a post mortem examination had been inconclusive and further tests will be required to determine a cause of death.
Tributes were paid online by school friends and family. Karen Wain wrote: ‘My beautiful little sister rest in peace I love you’.
A MasterChef spokesman last night could not confirm when she appeared on the show.
Barker’s family said in a statement: ‘The whole family have been left devastated by Helen’s untimely death. She was much loved and will be greatly missed by us all.
‘She was a bright young woman who, in addition to her attainment of a BSc degree in Dental Technology at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, was a talented artist and an accomplished cook, having appeared on the MasterChef television programme.’
The pensioner arrested was bailed until late November.
Daily Mail