A chilling court case has unveiled how a primary school teacher murdered her partner, despite his heartfelt attempts to reconcile with her.
Nick Billingham, 42, wrote loving letters to Fiona Beal, calling her the "perfect woman." In one letter, he professed, "My body, my heart, my love has been yours since the day I met you and will be yours until the day I die." However, less than two years after their reconciliation in 2020, Beal, 50, brutally murdered him.
Beal stabbed Billingham in the neck and buried his body in their garden, where it remained hidden for over four months. Friends and family believed Billingham had left Beal for another woman, as she had falsely claimed.
The court saw disturbing photographs of the makeshift grave Beal created. Billingham's body was entombed under sheeting, concrete, breeze blocks, and compost. Initially, Beal pleaded guilty to manslaughter, citing a loss of control, but later admitted to murder.
During the trial, it was revealed that Beal meticulously documented the murder in a journal. She lured Billingham to bed, promising sex, and then stabbed him while he was restrained with cable ties. Beal continued to attend work and socialize as if nothing had happened, even pretending to have COVID-19 to cover up her crime.
Billingham's mother, Yvonne Valentine, gave a heart-wrenching victim impact statement, expressing her anguish and anger over Beal's deceit and cruelty.
Prosecutor Hugh Davies KC described the murder as a "controlled execution" by Beal, who had a darker alter ego named "Tulip 22."
Beal's mental health declined in early 2022, leading to her arrest after police found her journal entries in a cabin in Cumbria. The case has shocked the community and left many grappling with the contrast between Beal's public persona and her hidden, violent side.
