WATCH: CCTV footage of murder accused Fiona Beal at Northampton B&Q buying bark chippings

CCTV footage of a former Northampton teacher accused of murder has been released after being shown to the jury.

Fiona Beal, of Moore Street, Kingsley, is currently standing trial at Northampton Crown Court after being accused of murdering long-term partner, Nicholas Billingham.

The footage, which was shown to the jury on the first day of the trial (Monday March 13) and again on Thursday (March 16), shows the now 49-year-old entering and leaving Northampton B&Q in Nene Valley Retail Park on November 13, 2021. The clips show Beal purchasing compost, decorative stones and bark chippings.

Beal is accused of murdering her 42-year-old partner, which she denies. Police believed Mr Billingham was murdered on November 1, 2021.

After a four-day search, police uncovered a “partially mummified” body buried in the rear garden of Beal’s Kingsley home, says the prosecution. The body had been wrapped in a bed sheet and black plastic then secured with tape, multiple cables, plastic ties and a knotted hose pipe. It had been covered with soil, paving slabs, bark chippings and a planter.

Prosecutor Mr Steven Perian told the court: “It is very likely that it took the defendant an extended period of time in undertaking the project to conceal his body in the garden.”

The partly mummified body was later identified through dental records as Mr Billingham.

A pathologist determined the cause of Mr Billingham’s death was a single stab wound to the right-hand side of his neck.

The trial continues.