A chilling case involving the alleged murder of a man and the subsequent burial of his body in a garden is set to unfold in court next week as primary school teacher Fiona Beal, 50, prepares to stand trial.
Beal stands accused of fatally stabbing her partner, Nick Billingham, 42, at their residence in Northampton on November 1, 2021. The grim discovery of Mr. Billingham’s body, buried in the garden of their Moore Street terraced property, emerged five months later in March 2022, following an extensive search operation by police specialist teams, including a cadaver dog.
A post-mortem examination revealed the cause of Mr. Billingham’s death as a stab wound to the neck.
Beal’s arrest unfolded dramatically at a hotel in Cumbria, approximately 200 miles from the scene, mere hours before the discovery of Mr. Billingham’s body. She appeared today at the Old Bailey via video link from HMP Peterborough for a brief hearing, clad in a black shirt and glasses, confirming her identity.
The trial proceedings are set to commence on April 18 before Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, with the jury selection process scheduled to commence tomorrow. Beal, residing on Moore Street, vehemently denies the charge of murder and remains in custody pending the trial.
As the legal process unfolds, the community awaits answers surrounding the circumstances of Mr. Billingham’s death and the events leading up to the grim discovery in the garden of the couple’s home.
