Fiona Beal: Teacher who murdered partner and buried him in garden jailed for at least 20 years
A primary school teacher who murdered her boyfriend before burying him in their garden has been jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years.
Fiona Beal, 50, from Northampton, stabbed Nicholas Billingham, 42, to death sometime between October and November 2021.
After previously pleading guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter by reason of loss of control, Beal last month pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Billingham.
The Old Bailey heard she killed him in “cold blood” before burying his body in their back garden.
Nicholas Billingham. Pic: PA
Mr Billingham’s partly-mummified remains were discovered four-and-a-half months after he was last seen on 1 November, 2021.
Handing her a life sentence on Thursday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: “Having moved and buried the body in the garden you then lied to his mother, numerous friends, all his family and yours as to what you had done and where he was.”
Earlier during the two-day sentencing hearing, Andrew Wheeler KC, defending, told the court Beal had demonstrated “courage” to admit the murder.
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The barrister also said Beal expressed “remorse” in journals she wrote, quoting one entry which recorded her reaching “breaking point” and apologising for a host of things.
It was also heard during the trial that Mr Billingham had affairs.
Mr Wheeler said the purpose for examining the evidence relating to Mr Billingham’s behaviour was not intended “to speak ill of the dead”, but that it was “relevant” to the murder and “does explain how (Beal) came to be broken”.
Fiona Beal. Pic: PA
Beal had earlier described Mr Billingham as making “belittling comments” and calling her “old” and “fat”.
“To say that what happened eventually…was out of character does not in our submission begin to do it justice,” Mr Wheeler told the court.
On the first day of her sentencing hearing, the prosecution read out a letter Mr Billingham wrote to Beal after he had an affair during their 17-year relationship.
Beal buried her partner in a strip of ground to the left of the house. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Fiona Beal’s garden. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Fiona Beal’s garden where she buried her partner. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
In the letter, Mr Billingham accepted his faults and described Beal as “kind hearted”, “generous” and “the most beautiful woman in the world”.
He wrote: “I promise to never again belittle you or make you feel rubbish again.
“My body, my heart, my love has been yours since the day I met you and will be until the day I die.”
A bloodstained mattress discovered in Fiona Beal’s cellar. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
On the day of his death, Mr Billingham had worked on a house renovation before returning to the home he shared with Beal in Northampton.
That evening, she killed him in a “carefully planned domestic execution”, the prosecution said.
Beal stabbed him in the neck and disposed of the body in a shallow grave at the side of their home like “building waste”.
Mr Billingham’s mother Yvonne Valentine last month told Sky News how she had visited the couple’s home in the days after the killing.
She said: “I walked into the house, in the living room, and the first thing I thought was, ‘oh, have you had a turn round of furniture? It all looks different’.
“Fiona offered me a Christmas drink and we sat there… but it always gets to me, because I think Nick was buried in the garden, just a few feet away and I didn’t know he was there.”
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In a victim impact statement, Ms Valentine branded Beal a “coward” and “exceptionally evil and cruel” to send her messages from her son’s phone to convince her he was safe and well.
In February 2022, Beal had been signed off work with anxiety, stress, depression and low mood.
The following month, she rented a cabin in Cumbria and sent messages to family members which gave them cause for concern over her wellbeing, prompting them to call police to check on her.
Fiona Beal’s journal in which she wrote: “Hiding a body was hard.”Pic: Northamptonshire Police
In the cabin, police found Beal’s journals containing a confession to the killing.
They also included reference to her having a split personality and an alter ego she called Tulip 22.
She also described how during the murder she told Mr Billingham he was killing her so he couldn’t do to another woman “what he has done to me”.
The journals triggered a police investigation and Beal was arrested in March 2022 after Mr Billingham’s body was discovered.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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