Woman, 48, charged with murder after police discover body buried in Northampton back garden

A 48-year-old woman with has been charged murder after detectives discovered a body buried in the back garden of a house in Northampton.

Police confirmed the remains are believed to be those of a missing 42-year-old male.

Fiona Beal was formally charged with a single count of murder shortly after midnight on Sunday (March 20) following the launch of a homicide investigation some days earlier.

Officers were initially called to the address in Moore Street, Kingsley, on Wednesday — hours after Beal had been arrested at a Cumbria hotel.

Specialist search teams discovered a body in the rear garden of the property on Saturday afternoon. The remains are expected be taken to Leicester for forensic examination by a Home Office pathologist.

DCI Adam Pendlebury, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit Major Crime team, said: “Officers have been conducting house-to-house inquiries in the area over the past couple of days.

“This remains a complex and challenging investigation and we are appealing for anyone with any information to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 26 of March 16, 2022.”