A teacher who stabbed her boyfriend to death in ‘cold blood’ 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.
Beal, of Moore Street, Northampton, has now pleaded guilty to the murder charge at the Old Bailey in London.
A jury at the Old Bailey heard today that she had changed her plea.
Judge Mark Lucraft told Beal: ‘You have this morning pleaded guilty to murder, which as you have no doubt been told, carries a sentence of life imprisonment.’
He confirmed he will determine the minimum term at a two-day sentencing hearing starting on May 29.
As the jury left the courtroom, a tearful Beal wiped her eyes with a tissue.
