Sick truth behind 2016 wedding photo

Only ten mourners showed up at Warren Arter’s funeral last month as he carried to the grave the true scale of his depravity.

Only ten mourners were present at former UK Met Police detective inspector Warren Arter’s funeral last month as he carried to the grave the true scale of his depravity.

Those secrets include the full circumstances surrounding the death of his wife Rebekah.

The Sun has reported how ­Rebekah was found dead in a blood-drenched hotel room in Barbados a fortnight before Arter’s suspected ­suicide in prison in July this year.

Her well-attended funeral took place at the same crematorium ­immediately after the lonely service for Arter, 54.

At the time of her death, hairdressing tutor Rebekah, 47, was under the control of Arter, with both of them addicted to crack cocaine, say friends.

They married in 2016. Picture: Instagram

It is claimed he forced ­Rebekah to have sex with other men at swinging parties and she was raped while unconscious after being drugged by the ex-Met cop.

Allegations of coercive control were being investigated by police against Arter when he and Rebekah died.

Rebekah’s body was “found” by Arter on their bed at the luxury O2 Beach Club and Spa hotel in June.

The sheets and hotel room ­carpet were covered in blood. There were no signs of any visible injuries and local police ruled out foul play.

However, friends believe the cause of Rebekah’s death stemmed from a lifestyle to which she was enslaved by Arter.

An initial post-mortem on the ­Caribbean island found cocaine in Rebekah’s liver. It is said to have concluded she died from a massive haemorrhage of the lungs caused by a viral infection such as pneumonia.

Rebekah died from a massive haemorrhage of the lungs. Picture: Instagram

He was a police officer. Picture: Instagram

Conflicting accounts

An inquest into her death was opened at South London ­Coroner’s Court last month.

It will resume later when the exact cause of death will be determined and Arter’s ­conduct is likely to be examined in detail.

Arter, who spent more than $5,800 on Rebekah’s credit card in Barbados in the days after her death, is said to have provided conflicting accounts of when he found her body.

In one version he claimed they had been sunbathing and returned to the room, then he woke two hours later to find her dead.

While in another he said they went for dinner the previous night and he had slept for 18 hours before discovering her body.

The ex-detective hit headlines last year when he was sacked for gross misconduct following an extraordinary disciplinary tribunal which heard about his drug abuse and orgies.

Two years previously, another Met cop, firearms officer Wayne Couzens, kidnapped raped and murdered Sarah Everard in a high-profile case that led to an independent review into the force’s culture and behaviour, carried out by Baroness Casey.

Published last year, her inquiry report concluded the Met was institutionally racist, homophobic and sexist.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has instigated a purge of rotten apples in his force.

He says there are hundreds of bent cops, bullies and sexists who need to be removed from the profession.

A trawl of police databases in 2022 found 161 officers with previous convictions, including three for sex offences.

Arter spent almost seven years ­suspended on full pay, raking in around $600,000, before his gross misconduct hearing, where questions were asked about why he had never faced criminal charges for ­misconduct.

Rebekah died when they were on holidays. Picture: iStock

One source said: “Had Arter been charged and convicted of misconduct earlier, it is likely he would have been jailed and Rebekah would still be alive.”

“Taking ­control of her life and ­effectively forcing her into a de­bauch­ed lifestyle cost Rebekah her life.”

Three days after Rebekah was found dead, Arter took an overdose.

He was taken to a Barbados ­hospital and survived the apparent suicide attempt.

Arter was comforted by Rebekah’s brother and sister, who flew to the island then accompanied him back to the UK.

But to their shock, Arter was arr­est­ed on arrival at Heathrow by Met Police officers over ­allegations of ­serious offences, including rape.

He was charged with misconduct in public office over a 13-year span.

Arter was alleged to have had “inappropriate contact with a victim of crime” who has not been ­identified, but was not Rebekah.

He appeared at Westminster ­Magistrates’ Court on July 10 and was remanded in custody to appear at Woolwich Crown Court in August.

But he was found dead in his cell at HMP Wandsworth two days later.

In his cell was a note to his disting­uished father Anthony, a former Met Police officer turned solicitor who was awarded a CBE for his work and charity fundraising.

The Sun can also reported that as well as misconduct, Arter was arrest­ed at Heathrow over allegations of coercive control over Rebekah, made by one of her relatives.

He was also arrested for rape and sexual assault claims made by another woman.

Arter was further held over allegations of voyeurism, sending malicious communications and blackmail.

He was “bailed” on those claims.

The allegations, investigated by South London detectives in conjunction with the Met’s professional standards department, are now likely to remain out of the public domain.

Detectives are providing assistance to the coroner for a full inquest into Rebekah’s death, though not investigating it.

Rebekah’s fate was sealed in 2007 when she reported a com­plaint of domestic violence to police and Arter was assigned as the ­investigator.

At the time, Arter was a det­ective sergeant working on a community safety unit.

Arter began a relationship with Rebekah, which was part of a pattern of inappropriate romantic liaisons he had with vulnerable victims.

Six months after meeting Rebekah, he mov­ed into the home she shared with her young son Elliot in Welling, South London.

Soon afterwards, Arter ran a specialist Sapphire rape squad covering the borough of Bexley, South East London.

In 2009 his team were commended for having the best results in London, and in 2015 he was promoted to detective inspector.

But the detective with clean-cut looks was a sexual predator preying on ­victims who had placed their trust in the police.

It was later alleged Arter failed to ensure investigations were properly conducted into crimes against those victims he had affairs with.

Arter also spoke scathingly about the women in front of other ­Sapphire officers, multiple witnesses told investigators.

And unbeknown to his superiors, he was regularly using cocaine and attending wild sex parties.

He and Rebekah married in Las Vegas in 2016. Photographs obtained by The Sun show the happy couple at their quirky wedding before they flew on to Jamaica.

But the wheels came off for Arter when the pair arrived back from their honeymoon, as Met anti-corruption officers were waiting at his home.

They had been investigating him after an anonymous call to Crimestoppers alleged he was having affairs with rape victims.

An examination of his devices revealed he had searched for places to buy cocaine and ecstasy while in Las Vegas and Jamaica and call records established he had regularly visited a known drug haunt.

Skimpy PVC top

Arter was suspended from duty and over the next two years became ­further entrenched in the world of drugs and kinky sex.

Friends say he would stay out all night, sleeping ­during the day and having frequent nose bleeds from drug abuse.

Rebekah’s life also began to unravel under Arter’s influence. One source said: “She was also doing cocaine and was under his complete control.

He forced her to wear revealing clothing and stilettos with the high­est heels. She was not the woman she was when she met Warren.”

The independent Office for Police Conduct took over the investigation into Arter and in 2018 he was arrested again on suspicion of supplying drugs and corrupt use of police powers.

Traces of cocaine were found on digital scales and plastic bags that were at his home.

Around 3,000 messages were found on his phone, many relating to swinging activities.

In one message there was a description of a woman having sex with a man for crack cocaine.

Photographs were found in their house showing Rebekah having sex with men while looking glassy-eyed. Picture: iStock

In June 2020, a file on the drug offences was sent by the watchdog to the CPS which concluded three months later that there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

Arter remained suspended by the Met until he was finally sacked last year by the gross misconduct panel.

By then, he and Rebekah had piled up debts, she had remortgaged her home and sold another property she owned.

It apparently seemed like a murder scene with blood everywhere. But Bajan police were content she died from natural causes.

The expenditure was perhaps explained by the crack pipes and needles found at their home.

Flush with Arter’s six-figure pension lump sum, which he was able to claim as he had escaped criminal proceedings, the couple flew to Barbados in June this year.

But nine days later Arter found Rebekah dead in their hotel room, wearing a skimpy PVC top, while blood covered the sheets and carpet.

One source said: “It apparently seemed like a murder scene with blood everywhere.

But Bajan police were content she died from natural causes.”

By the time ­Rebekah’s body was repatriated to the UK Arter was also dead.

A disturbing postscript paints “D.I. Depravity” in an even more appalling light.

Photographs were found in their house showing Rebekah having sex with men while looking glassy-eyed.

According to the source, police have also been told Arter sent a video to a friend showing Rebekah having sex with a man while she was apparently unconscious.

And work colleagues of Rebekah’s also reported she showed signs of bruising in the months leading up to her death, it is claimed.

She and Arter were cremated, one after the other, on September 2, ­leaving mourners for Rebekah to reflect on the life she might have had if she had never met Arter.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Sick truth behind 2016 wedding photo