UK - Nicholas Billingham, 42, body found buried in garden, Northampton, Mar 2022 *arrest*

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AcbMurders said:
The court heard that, when the pair lived in Compton Way in Earls Barton, Beal did not like Mr Billingham working off the books.

Beal explained to the court that this was because she was claiming benefits but, as Mr Billingham was not registered to the property, she did not disclose his income on benefit application forms and she would, therefore, receive more money than she should.
The defendant claimed that Mr Billingham did not want anything registered in his name because debt collection companies were pursuing him and anything in his name would be seized as assets.
Mr Perian told the court this meant Beal had been dishonestly claiming benefits. Beal admitted that the information she put on the forms was inaccurate.

www.northamptonchron.co.uk

Fiona Beal Trial: Teacher accused of murder admits to dishonestly claiming benefits for a number of years

The teacher accused of murdering her partner, denied calling him “Nick Freak Nick” to her sister
www.northamptonchron.co.uk www.northamptonchron.co.uk
Click to expand...
I thought the house itself was registered jointly under both their names? Didn't she ask someone for advice on how to take his name off the deed?
 
kokotheklutz said:
It says that when they lived in their previous address she was claiming their benefits....when she lives in Earls Barton. But the address where this happened was Moore Street (Northampton). So how long ago did they live there?
Because I feel like she teacher trained in the past 10 years, not since leaving uni (if I remember correctly) - I am a teacher and remember thinking "Oh she went into teaching in her late 30s/early 40s then).
So possibly she was on benefits and renting before she trained as a teacher, got a job, and then bought a house. Guessing if she was unemployed before or on low income, she would qualify for Universal Credit of some sort?
Click to expand...

I think it was mentioned in one of the linked articles that she only qualified and started working as a teacher in 2020, prior to which she was a teaching assistant (low income).
 
HongKongPhooey said:
10 joints a day!
Click to expand...
I have to jump in here.

Firstly, her cannabis consumption seems irrelevant to the case. Would they ask an alcohol user how much they drank regularly?

Secondly, a 'joint' is not a unit of measurement. In the UK, joints tend to be at least 70/30 tobacco/weed.

My guess is she either smoked 10 rollies with a pinch of weed or is exaggerating.

£50 is approx a quarter ounce and not excessive for a regular smoker.

Source: Big ole stoner.
 
SusanDonim said:
I have to jump in here.

Firstly, her cannabis consumption seems irrelevant to the case. Would they ask an alcohol user how much they drank regularly?

Secondly, a 'joint' is not a unit of measurement. In the UK, joints tend to be at least 70/30 tobacco/weed.

My guess is she either smoked 10 rollies with a pinch of weed or is exaggerating.

£50 is approx a quarter ounce and not excessive for a regular smoker.

Source: Big ole stoner.
Click to expand...
I did wonder how it was only fifty quid a week.
 
SusanDonim said:
Firstly, her cannabis consumption seems irrelevant to the case. Would they ask an alcohol user how much they drank regularly?
Click to expand...

Her cannabis consumption is not that irrelevant imo, especially if it might have contributed (even in small part) to her judgement being somewhat impaired or not remembering what went on. Alcohol abuse would also be relevant imo.
 
Beal said: “With company, he would be the life and soul of the party and would be very sociable but, behind closed doors, he would become more abusive.”
The defendant claimed that Mr Billingham would try to “pick fights” with her and often criticise her looks and compare her to other people.

www.northamptonchron.co.uk

Murder-accused Fiona Beal tells court she was ‘frightened’ of partner when he drank

Upon being re-examined today, Beal told the court that her partner was the “life and soul of the party” but “abusive” behind closed doors.
www.northamptonchron.co.uk www.northamptonchron.co.uk
 
On May 18, 2022, the court heard from psychiatrist Dr Aamir Ehjaz, who examined the murder-accused Fiona Beal, aged 49, on four separate occasions last year.

(…)

The court heard that a meeting of expert witnesses called on by both the prosecution and defence took place in January this year. A subsequent report showed that all experts agreed there was no evidence of Beal pretending to have a poor memory of the killing and her amnesia is considered to be “potentially genuine.”

(…)

[definitely worth reading the full article]

www.northamptonchron.co.uk

Fiona Beal killed partner because she could not see another way out of coercive relationship, says expert witness

A trial has heard that expert witnesses on both sides agree that the former teacher’s amnesia is potentially genuine
www.northamptonchron.co.uk www.northamptonchron.co.uk
 
Last edited:
(…)
Mr Perian then referred to “deceptive” text messages sent by Beal in the following days and weeks both on her phone and Mr Billingham’s to pretend that her partner was still alive.
The prosecutor put to the psychiatrist that this demonstrated “clear thinking” and “planning.”

Dr Ehjaz said: “She sometimes started to believe her own lies and at times she would have been aware of what she had done but, other times, less so.”
(…)

www.northamptonchron.co.uk

Depression would have ‘clouded thinking’ of Fiona Beal when she killed partner, says psychiatrist

The prosecution claims that the murder accused teacher’s “deceptive” texts demonstrated clear thinking and planning after she killed Nicholas Billingham
www.northamptonchron.co.uk www.northamptonchron.co.uk
 
(…)
Forensic psychologist Dr John Cordwell conducted a four hour and 45 minute assessment of Fiona Beal, aged 49, in July last year.

He concluded that Beal met the criteria for ongoing severe depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of the examination.(…)

www.northamptonchron.co.uk

Fiona Beal describes hearing ‘powerful critical voices’ around time she allegedly murdered partner

A forensic psychologist said Beal met the criteria for severe depression and post traumatic stress disorder when examined last year
www.northamptonchron.co.uk www.northamptonchron.co.uk
———

Dr Cordwell said he had read papers detailing the circumstances of the killing before interviewing Ms Beal for four hours and 45 minutes at HMP Peterborough last July.
He told the court Ms Beal was "quite distressed" but was "polite and personable" and able to maintain her concentration and attention during his assessment. (…)
www.bbc.co.uk

Northampton: Murder accused has PTSD, says psychologist

A forensic psychologist told a court Fiona Beal suffered PTSD due to coercive control.
www.bbc.co.uk



“In this trial, Nicholas Billingham is the victim, not the defendant.” Mr Perian told the court that Beal - throughout her 17 year relationship with Mr Billingham - travelled freely to her parents’ house and to her sister’s address in London, met friends for dinner and controlled her own spending.
The prosecutor added that Beal previously admitted dishonesty in fraudulently claiming benefits. He asked Dr Cordwell how that information sits happily with his assessment of the coercive control Mr Billingham allegedly inflicted on Beal.

Dr Cordwell confirmed that some of these details were “not consistent” with coercive control.

www.northamptonchron.co.uk

Fiona Beal ‘enjoyed getting high’ and hid ‘heavy’ drug use from partner before stabbing him, trial hears

“Nicholas Billingham is the victim, not the defendant,” prosecutor reminds the court
www.northamptonchron.co.uk www.northamptonchron.co.uk
 
further delays…

The trial was scheduled to resume this afternoon (May 23), however, due to a member of counsel in the trial being unwell, it has been decided by all parties that it is not possible to continue sitting on the trial this week.

The trial was already scheduled not to be heard at all next week, which means that no further evidence will be heard until midday on Tuesday, June 6.

www.northantstelegraph.co.uk

Trial of Fiona Beal who is accused of murdering partner will resume in two weeks

No further evidence will be heard until the first week of June
www.northantstelegraph.co.uk www.northantstelegraph.co.uk
 
Imo, a rather more balanced assessment of possible reasons for FB’s behaviour from Forensic psychiatrist, Dr Frank Farnham today.

(…)
Dr Farnham told the court that it is “reasonable” to conclude that Beal was experiencing a “depressive episode from a mild to a moderate degree” when she fatally stabbed Mr Billingham on November 1, 2021..
He added that, when he assessed Beal, she had symptoms compatible with that of post traumatic stress disorder but it is “not clear” if these symptoms developed before or as a result of the killing.
(…)
Referring to the journals, Dr Farnham said Beal’s “anger” about Mr Billingham controlling her could be a “possible motivation” for the killing and, if this arose from wanting revenge, then the loss of control defence would not apply.
(…)
He said that Beal would have “likely” understood the nature of her conduct and stabbing Mr Billingham with a knife or chisel would lead to death of grievous bodily harm.
(…)
The court heard from Dr Farnham that Beal’s memory loss could possibly be a result of ‘dissociative amnesia.’
(…)
Dr Farnham, however, added that Beal may just be “unwilling” to talk about the killing because of “shame” or “attempting to avoid full responsibility.”
“Ultimately, the truthfulness of her account is for the jury to decide,” Dr Farnham stated.

www.northamptonchron.co.uk

Fiona Beal experienced ‘disturbing memories she could not place’ whilst in prison for stabbing partner

The court heard that Beal had problems with bed-wetting and depression from childhood into adulthood
www.northamptonchron.co.uk www.northamptonchron.co.uk
 
(…)
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Frank Farnham, when concluding his evidence in the trial today (June 12) at Northampton Crown Court said that he believes Beal’s ability to form a rational judgement or exercise self control is “unlikely” to have been substantially impaired at the time of the killing.

“There seems to be a significant amount of purposeful behaviour - at least immediately after the killing - in terms of using the victim’s phone and various other acts that suggested Beal probably had the functional capacity to do those things,” Dr Farnham told jurors.
(…)


(…)
Consultant forensic psychologist, Dr Jennifer Cutler, examined Beal in September 2022
(…)
Talking about Beal’s behaviour after killing her partner, Dr Cutler said: “There is this period of time where a lot is achieved by Ms Beal in terms of covering up the death of Mr Billingham and some of those adaptive functions involve really quite complex cognitive operations.”
The expert witness goes on to provide examples such as Ms Beal’s ability to “mimic” Mr Billingham’s voice in text messages to his family members to pretend he was still alive, the ability to dispose of his body and obtain the necessary equipment that required and then her ability to return to work without any apparent disintegration.
www.northamptonchron.co.uk

Fiona Beal’s PTSD ‘probably’ resulted from ‘gruesome’ killing of partner instead of relationship, trial hears

Beal’s results of a psychometric test indicated a “cry for help”, a murder trial has heard
www.northamptonchron.co.uk www.northamptonchron.co.uk
 
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