Trial to begin of teacher accused of killing partner and burying body in garden

A primary school teacher accused of stabbing her partner to death before burying his body in their garden is set to go on trial.

Fiona Beal, 50, is charged with murdering her 42-year-old boyfriend Nicholas Billingham after his partly mummified remains were discovered four-and-a-half months after he was last seen.

Beal, who denies the charge, is said to have killed him on November 1 2021 before concealing him in the garden of their terraced Northampton home.

The teacher, of Moore Street, Northampton, was arrested in March 2022 after police discovered the body.

Forensic officers and specialist search teams, including a cadaver dog, were deployed to the address before the discovery was made.

During a pre-trial hearing at the Old Bailey, Recorder of London Mark Lucraft KC said jury selection would take place on Wednesday, with the trial set to begin on Thursday April 18.