ABC World news
written by Alyssa Newcomb
Wednesday July 11, 2012
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 poring 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.
The Rausings' appetite for drugs was not made public until their arrests in 2008.
That year, a security guard caught Eva Rausing trying to sneak drugs into a party at the U.S. Embassy in London.
Officers then searched the couple's home where they found crack, heroin and cocaine. The couple was issued a formal caution and the charges were dropped.
At the time of the embassy incident, Eva Rausing told reporters that she was ashamed of her actions.
"I hope in due course to get back on track," Rausing said in a statement at the time. "I am sorry for the upset I have caused."
Kemeny's family released a statement mourning the loss of their daughter, who had four children.
"During her short lifetime she made a huge philanthropic impact, supporting a large number of charitable causes, not only financially, but using her own personal experiences," the statement said.
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The Mirror UK
written by Staff
Wednesday July 11, 2012
Eva and Hans Kristian married in the 80s after meeting at a US rehabilitation clinic. His family declared they were supporting the couple as they fought to ditch drugs.
They said they “hope with all our hearts” the pair can “overcome their addiction”. In April 2008, the couple were arrested over Eva’s US Embassy stunt but the prosecution was formally discontinued.
Hans Kristian was charged after police found drugs during a search of his home. After lengthy discussions between his legal team and prosecutors, he and his wife accepted a conditional police caution.
Court documents revealed Eva was carrying about 10g of crack cocaine, 2.5g of heroin and 2.35g of diethylpropion, a banned stimulant and appetite suppressant.
A further drugs stash, 220mg of diazepam, used to treat anxiety, was also found in her Renault Clio car. A search of their home found 5.63g of crack cocaine, 2.9g of heroin and almost 52g of cocaine.
Neither Eva nor her husband were present at City of Westminster magistrates’ court that August to see the prosecution dropped. But accepting a conditional discharge meant the couple admitted possessing the drugs. The move to merely caution the pair sparked controversy at the time with then Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair saying he was “surprised” by the decision.
Eva and Hans Kristian moved into their Belgravia mansion after selling a property nearby for £12.65million six years ago. They also have an 11-bedroomed beachside mansion in Barbados and a large apartment on The World, a cruise ship for passengers who choose to be offshore for tax-avoidance purposes. The couple’s four children are all under the age of 18.
Tetra Pak, which revolutionised the storage of items such as milk, soups and drinks, has grown to become the world’s largest food packaging company since being founded 60 years ago.
It operates in more than 170 countries and employs more than 22,000 staff.
Unlike his workaholic father with whom he shares the same name, Hans Kristian has had no involvement with the company and it is not even known whether he has a job.
The Rausing family, originally from Sweden, are the 12th wealthiest in Britain according to the Sunday Times rich list.
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