Fiona Beal Trial: Neighbour says she was ‘abrupt’ and ‘shut the door in his face’ days after alleged murder

The neighbour of a former Northampton teacher accused of murdering her partner said she was “abrupt” and shut the door in his face when he tried to check in on Nicholas Billingham three days after his alleged murder, a court has heard.

The neighbour began working with Mr Billingham in the building and renovation trade in Spring 2021 and they had a job together on November 5, 2021, he said in a statement read out at Northampton Crown Court on March 21.

When it rolled around to November 4, 2021, the colleague had not heard from Mr Billingham for three days and he was not responding to messages. So he decided to go around to Mr Billingham’s house to check if he was okay.

Mr Billingham’s partner, Fiona Beal, answered the door in a facemask and told the neighbour they both tested positive for Covid-19 and Mr Billingham could not work that day, the court heard.

The neighbour stated: “Fiona was very abrupt and shut the door in my face. I did not see or hear Mr Billingham during this.

“I thought it was strange that he did not tell me himself or tell me prior.”

The colleague then texted Mr Billingham’s phone asking him to leave the key to the property they were working on under the doormat. He received a ‘thumbs up’ response.

When the neighbour collected the key and got to work, he found that it was the wrong key. He said this was “strange” as Mr Billingham would have known what the key was for.

On November 14, the neighbour received a text message from Mr Billingham saying he has moved out of Northampton and in with a girl as it was “not working” with Beal.

The neighbour said he spoke to Beal a few times during the mornings and he would ask where Mr Billingham was. She would reply, “I don’t know.”

The court heard that he went around to the address of a customer that Billingham was doing a job for and he said he owed Mr Billingham money.

“He was a stickler for getting all of his money so it was surprising that he had not collected his money for this job,” the neighbour said.

On January 5, 2022, the neighbour received another text message from Mr Billingham asking him to drop money owed to him at Beal’s house. Beal said she was “surprised” Mr Billingham had been in touch and denied any knowledge of money, the court heard.

He dropped the money around Beal’s house the following week. They had a cup of tea and discussed Mr Billingham going off with another woman. Beal told the neighbour, if she is ever seen with Mr Billingham again, to “shoot her.”

Another neighbour, who had visited Beal and Mr Billingham’s home on a couple of occasions, said there was a “happy vibe” and Mr Billingham was “quite upbeat and always having a joke.”

She described Beal as “quite bubbly” and “really cheerful” in the weeks leading up to the alleged murder.

The neighbour mentioned that Beal came to her house looking “down and a bit teary” in the second week of December 2021. Beal told the neighbour that Mr Billingham had cheated on her again, the court heard.

“I said I’m sorry, and gave her a bit of advice and I told her not to let him back.

“I did invite her around for Christmas day drinks but she never turned up,” the neighbour told the court.

She added that she was aware Mr Billingham had cheated on Beal before but thought that he was now “settled.”

The trial continues.