Billionairess may have lay dead in home for a week

Investigators were conducting further tests in a bid to shed light on the death of Eva Rausing, one of Britain’s richest women, who may have lay dead in her west London home for up to a week.

Her husband, Hans Kristian Rausing, has been arrested in connection with her death, which police are treating as unexplained.

They are trying to ascertain whether he was living with his wife’s body for up to a week in their mansion.

US-born Eva Rausing, 48, and her husband have both waged a long battle against drug addiction. Hans Kristian Rausing, 49, is an heir to the TetraPak fortune his father built as a globally successful manufacturer of laminated cardboard drink containers.

Police found Eva Rausing dead at her multimillion-pound London home on Monday. Initial postmortem examinations have failed to establish a formal cause of her death.

Despite an apparent overdose, pathologists were unable to find an immediate cause of death due to the state of the body, leading to believe she may have been dead for some time.

The Metropolitan Police said officers arrested a 49-year-old man on Monday in connection with the case. Police did not release the man’s name but offered details of the arrest in response to a question about Hans Kristian Rausing.

They said they arrested the man on suspicion of drug possession, and that a subsequent search of an address in London’s upmarket Belgravia neighbourhood related to that arrest led to the discovery of Eva Rausing’s body later that day.

Police said he remained under arrest yesterday but was receiving medical attention at a location away from a police station.

They would not say if the man was under guard.

Eva Rausing’s parents, Tom and Nancy Kemeny, and the rest of her family paid tribute to a “devoted wife” and mother of four “much loved and wonderful children,” saying they were devastated over her death. Their statement also alluded to her struggles.

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 family said. “She bravely fought her health issues for many years.”

A statement from her in-laws, Hans and Marit Rausing, said they were “deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death”.

Eva Rausing supported a number of charities that helped to fight addictions. One of them — Action on Addiction — was among the first to express sadness over her death and praise her “wonderfully generous” support over the years.

She also was listed as a long-time supporter of The Prince’s Foundation, part of a group of nonprofit charities that have Prince Charles as their patron.

Hans Rausing’s Swedish father helped transform TetraPak into a hugely successful manufacturer.

The fortune of the senior Rausing and his family is estimated at £4.3bn (€5.45bn) by the Sunday Times Rich List.