Primary school teacher admits murdering boyfriend and burying him in the garden

A teacher who stabbed her boyfriend to death and buried his body in the garden has admitted murdering him.

Fiona Beal, 50, pleaded guilty in court today to the murder of her 42-year-old boyfriend Nicholas Billingham.

Mr Billingham’s partly mummified remains were discovered four-and-a-half months after he was last seen alive.

She previously pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter by reason of a loss of control, but denied murdering him between October 30 and November 10, 2021.

She has now pleaded guilty to the murder charge at the Old Bailey in London.

Jurors heard previously how the ‘highly capable and highly respected teacher’ used his phone to message Mr Billingham’s friends and relatives for months, pretending he was still alive.

if(window.adverts) { adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_mobile_top"}) } if(window.adverts) { adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet"}) } More Trending

Captain Tom's daughter puts home on the market for £2,250,000 (spa not included)

Clarks employee who worked at same shop for 68 years sacked with two days notice

Why is it so cold in the UK right now and when is it going to get warmer?

Major supermarket delivery service down with customers left without any shopping

Read More Stories

She told his loved ones on November 1, 2021, and in the following days, that the couple had contracted Covid-19 and had to isolate, the court was told.

This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

Sign Up for News UpdatesGet your need-to-know latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and moreSign up

Privacy Policy

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Primary school teacher admits murdering boyfriend and burying him in the garden

Primary school teacher admits murdering boyfriend and burying him in the garden

Primary school teacher admits murdering boyfriend and burying him in the garden

Primary school teacher admits murdering boyfriend and burying him in the garden

Primary school teacher admits murdering boyfriend and burying him in the garden