BBC learns ex-Met police inspector lied about wife’s death in Barbados hotel room

Conflicting accounts after Rebekah’s death

Arter called hotel reception in June 2024 to report that Rebekah had collapsed. He gave different explanations to staff and her family, including that she had choked, fallen and hit her head, or that he had woken to find her dead.

Rebekah’s daughter-in-law, Lacey, told Panorama that Arter said they had both been asleep for 18 hours before he found Rebekah dead. His other accounts included that she had choked or that her drink had been spiked.

Hotel staff describe suspicious behaviour

Panorama spoke to several people working at the O2 Beach Club on the night Rebekah died. Andrew, a security guard, said he stopped Arter from going to a nearby street party before emergency services arrived.

Andrew said Arter cried and performed CPR while Rebekah’s lips were blue. He also said there was no sign of a head injury, despite bloodstains on the bed, wall and living area. Arter recorded the room and sent the video to family and friends in the UK.

Andrew said he gave Barbadian police a statement but was never formally interviewed. He described Arter as searching for an explanation that did not add up.

Questions over Barbados investigation

Panorama reported that Barbados authorities failed to preserve evidence and interview hotel staff about Arter’s conduct before and after Rebekah’s death. Vital forensic tests were not carried out, and a pathologist in Barbados “chopped up” Rebekah’s organs.

Arter’s police career and death

Arter was investigated for sexually exploiting vulnerable crime victims he was meant to protect. Three years later, he was placed in charge of a south-east London unit investigating rape cases.

He remained suspended for seven years while receiving his full detective inspector salary, and was dismissed in 2023 for drug offences. After returning from Barbados, he was arrested for allegedly abusing another woman and later took his own life in HMP Wandsworth.

The Met told the BBC that it decided not to act because no allegation of criminality had been made. Rebekah’s son Elliot and his wife, Lacey, said the Met had failed her.