A former teacher from Northampton has pleaded guilty to murder after changing her plea during her trial.
Fiona Beal, 50, had previously admitted to manslaughter but changed her plea to guilty to murder this week ahead of the case’s re-trial at the Old Bailey court in London.
The case had been going through a re-trial that had originally been expected to last for six to eight weeks.
Beal had been accused of murdering Nick Billingham at some time between October 30 and November 10 2021 and burying his remains in the garden behind their shared house on Moore Street in Northampton.
The case had originally reached a trial at Northampton Crown Court in March 2023, but after a hearing that lasted almost four months, the case collapsed for legal reasons.
Beal will receive a sentence in a follow-up hearing at the Old Bailey, which will be held at the end of May. She will be remanded in custody until then.
She was previously arrested in March 2022 shortly after being found in what was described by Northamptonshire Police as “a distressed state” in a holiday cabin in Cumbria.
Speaking after the hearing, Northamptonshire Police’s Senior Investigating Office DCI Adam Pendlebury said, “We are pleased Fiona Beal has now taken the decision to admit she did indeed murder Nick Billingham and hope that it brings the start of some closure to his family who have faced a torrid time for more than two years, including sitting through the original trial in Northampton in 2023.
“Today’s news will have come as a great relief as they await her sentencing next month.”
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