Fiona Beal trial: Northampton teacher accused of murder said partner was 'obsessive'

A former Northampton primary school teacher accused of murdering her long term partner says that she “lost a lot of confidence” during the relationship, when giving evidence for the very first time in her trial.

Fiona Beal, aged 49, of Moore Street, stands accused of murdering her long term partner 42-year-old Nicholas Billingham in November 2021 and burying his body in their garden.

The former Eastfield Academy teacher was charged with Mr Billingham’s murder in March 2022 after she tried to take her life in a Cumbrian holiday lodge and police uncovered two journals that detailed carrying out a plan to kill someone.

While Beal admits to Mr Billingham’s unlawful killing, she denies murder due to her state of mind at the time.

Giving evidence for the very first time today (April 28), Beal said she suffered with mental health problems in her last year of studying English at the University of Luton.

Beal said: “There was an incident when I just did not want to get out of bed. I just wanted to shut myself away from people.”

The court heard that a doctor prescribed her antidepressants and she would sometimes return when she was feeling “particularly low.”

Beal returned to her hometown, Northampton, and shared a house with friends - one of whom introduced her to Nicholas Billingham in a club in the summer of 2004. She described Mr Billingham, at the time, as “very charming and attentive.”

The court heard that they started a relationship and moved into a flat together later that year before moving to Earls Barton in July 2005. Beal was, however, the only person on the electoral register at that property.

When Beal was asked why, she responded: “Nick said he did not want his name on any official documents as there were debt collection agencies looking for him.”

She told jurors that Mr Billingham suggested to her that she should fraudulently claim benefits and Beal “just went along with it.”

Beal said: “I felt awful at the time. I was concerned that I would get found out. I wanted to stop as soon as I could but I couldn’t stop until I was back at work and earning enough.”

The defendant was offered a teaching assistant role at Kings Heath Academy in 2012 before she qualified as a teacher in 2015 and joined Eastfield Academy in 2020 as a year six primary school teacher. The couple moved to Moore Street in Northampton in February 2020.

On teaching, Beal told the court: “I loved it. I enjoyed the relationship I had with the children. I just enjoyed teaching even when it’s difficult children. It was rewarding.”

Andrew Wheeler KC, defending Beal, asked the defendant how she regarded teaching in terms of her private life.

Beal replied: “I was a different person inside the school. I could be much stronger.”

She added that she did not tend to discuss her private life with others at work.

The former teacher described her relationship with Mr Billingham at the beginning as being “very intense” and said he was “very loving and caring” but said this did not continue throughout their 17 years of being together.

Mr Wheeler asked: “How did things change?”

“He resented that I was tired,” answered Beal, “Like having less sex, I think that was an issue for him.”

The defendant described Mr Billingham as being “obsessive” when it came to keeping their home clean.

Beal claimed that, if Mr Billingham found that she did not clean the bathroom to his standards, he would take her to the bathroom and either show her how to do it or make her demonstrate how she would do it as he watched over her shoulder.

The court heard that Mr Billingham would check Beal’s cleaning when she was done and, if there was a spot she missed, he would say: “If you’re not going to do it properly, why bother doing it at all?”

When Mr Wheeler asked Beal if she ever challenged Mr Billingham about his behaviour, she said that it happened gradually.

Beal said: “It started with joking about mess and then it just creeped into being nasty about it.”

She added: “I could not tell you when it started. It just got worse until the end of the relationsh- until the end.”

The 49-year-old told jurors that Mr Billingham expected dinner to be ready for him when he arrived home from work and if the plate was not heated up or the food was not up to his standards, he would refuse to eat.

Beal said: “There were a couple of occasions where he threw the plate of dinner at the wall. I left the house the first time it happened but it was still there when I came back so I had to clean it up.”

When Beal was asked why 19 of Mr Billingham’s 23 vehicles were registered under Beal’s name, she said it was because the vehicle had to be registered to Compton Way but she was the only one on the electoral register for that address.

Mr Wheeler asked Beal why they had so many cars. She said it was because Mr Billingham would keep getting “bored” and “badger” her for another one, sometimes giving reasons such as the seats were not comfortable.

Beal told the court that she drove some of these cars but claimed that Mr Billingham kept track of her mileage and fuel consumption and questioned her about where she had been if her mileage went up more than usual.

The 49-year-old said that, before her relationship with Mr Billingham started, she had a good mix of friends but that changed.

Beal told jurors: “He would say rude things about my friends or their partners. When I started making new friends in the village, he would say that is not the sort of person I want to be hanging around with. I stopped seeing most people.”

When asked why, Beal said: “In some respects, it was easier.”

She said that, when she did see friends, it was when Mr Billingham was working and never at their house because it was “uncomfortable.”

When asked about how Mr Billingham was with Beal’s family, she replied: “He was rude and made inappropriate comments. Christmases were difficult.”

Beal added that, as a result, she did not see her family as much as she would have liked and - if she did see them - she would go alone but, on those occasions, Mr Billingham would tell her to be back by a certain time.

Mr Wheeler asked Beal to describe how Mr Billingham was around other people. She said he was “generous” and liked to take a wad of cash out with him “for a bit of flash.”

Beal said: “I was putting on a brave face and he was a charming jokester around friends.”

Beal was then questioned about Mr Billingham’s attitude towards her appearance.

The former Eastfield Academy teacher said that, if she wore makeup, Mr Billingham asked: “What are you wearing make up for?” and, if she did not wear makeup, he would tell her that she looked “old and washed out.”

Beal added that Mr Billingham sometimes made comments about her being “fat” or said, “You’re not going out like that, are you?”

“I lost a lot of confidence,” the defendant said.

The trial will resume after the bank holiday weekend on Tuesday May 2.