A primary school teacher accused of murdering her boyfriend and burying his body in the garden told a court she accepted killing him after he became “obsessive” and “resentful” over how she cooked and cleaned for him.
Fiona Beal is on trial accused of stabbing to death her long-term partner, 42-year-old Nicholas Billingham, at the couple’s home in Northampton, after blindfolding him and luring him to bed for sex in November 2021.
The 49-year-old buried his remains in their garden, wrapping him in a bed sheet, plastic bags and cable ties before dumping his body under bark chippings, jurors at Northampton Crown Court were told.
On Friday, Beal gave evidence for the first time, and when asked by Andrew Wheeler KC, defending, whether she accepted killing her boyfriend, answered: “Yes, I accept that.”
When asked if she remembers much of the detail of the events that happened at the time, Beal said she didn’t, or “the months afterwards”.
Wheeler asked her about her early life and whether there was anything remarkable about her time at school to which she laughed in the dock.
“No, not really,” Beal said.
“I went on to study English at the University of Luton. I got a 2:2 In my last year at university, there was an incident where I didn’t want to get out of my bed, I shut myself away from people.
“If I felt that I was feeling particularly low I would go back to the doctors. I was given antidepressants. It could balance me [my mood].
“I was kind of on and off of the antidepressant’s so sometimes I could go lower and I’d need to go back and see the doctor.”
Describing how she met Nick, Beal said a friend, who she was sharing a house with, introduced her to him at a club.
“He was very charming, very attentive. Then we got a flat together,” Beal recalled.
“He said he didn’t want his name on any official documents and that there were debt collection agencies after him.
“It was awkward all the time about that, I was nervous It was going to get found out.”
Beal explained how Nick went from being “very loving and caring” to telling her off when she failed to clean the house properly and resenting her “if I was tired”.
“We were having less sex and I think that was an issue for him.”
Beal said Nick changed in “small incremental steps”.
“I remember when we were in the flat I left a cloth with cleaner on it and it stained the worktop,” she recalled.
“And he kind of jokingly said we’ll lose the deposit there but didn’t seem really serious.
“But then cleaning became a huge issue throughout the years.
“Rather than laughing things off I’d get, I can’t think of a better way to say it, told off if I hadn’t cleaned things the way he wanted.
“I’d say he was more with obsessive. If he thought I hadn’t cleaned the bathroom tiles properly he would take me to the bathroom and teach me the correct way or demonstrate how I would do it.
“Supervising me, closely, over my shoulder.
“He would say, ‘but you can’t do it properly, so you need to learn’.”
Beal said everything in the home had to be “exactly how he wanted it”.
“So if one aspect wasn’t right he would throw the dinner in the bin. Or if I hadn’t heated the plate he would refuse to eat things,” she told the court.
“Things had to be facing outwards in the cupboard. They had to be facing forward.
“He expected it to be ready when he got back from work or around the five o’clock time.
“He’d question why it wasn’t, if Id been out or something. There were a couple of occasions where he threw the plate of dinner at the wall.
“I left the house. I came back and it was still there and cleaned it up.
“I couldn’t tell you when it started, it just got worse and lasted until the end.”
Beal was also asked about her career in teaching, which she said she had “loved”.
“I enjoyed the relationships I had with the children. I just enjoyed teaching even when it was difficult children, it was rewarding.
“I could be a different person in the school, I could be much stronger. Sometimes things would sort of seep in but no I tried to keep it as separate as possible.
“I don’t really talk to people about my private life.”
After killing her boyfriend, Beal fled to the Lake District where she was discovered by police after an apparent suicide attempt.
While searching for evidence, officers uncovered a chilling journal which detailed the planning, killing and burial of an unnamed man in detail. In the book, she described how she had killed under her alter-ego called Tulip22 after finally reaching ‘breaking point’.
Nicholas’ mummified remains were discovered at the property four months after Beal is said to have carried out the murder in November 2021.
His body was so badly decomposed he was identified by his dental records.
Beal admits unlawfully killing Nick but denies murder due to her state of mind at the time.
The trial continues.
Related links:
Prosecutors to appeal against sentence on rapist deemed ‘too young’ for jail
Man shoots girl, 6, her parents and neighbour after basketball rolls into his yard in America
Woman, 20, shot dead after mistakenly pulling into wrong driveway
Man accused of stabbing 9 year-old girl to death deemed unfit to stand trial
