Woman, 48, charged with murder after body found buried in back garden

Ellen Manning
·2-min read
Forensic officers at the scene in Moore Street, Kingsley, Northampton following a discovery of a body in a rear garden. The remains are expected be taken to Leicester where they will be forensically examined by a Home Office pathologist but are believed to be that of a missing 42-year-old male. The investigation was mounted following the arrest of Fiona Beal, 48, at a hotel in Cumbria early on Wednesday morning. She has now been charged with murder. Picture date: Sunday March 20, 2022.
The body was found in the back garden of a house in Moore Street, Kingsley, Northampton on Saturday. (PA)

A woman has been charged with murder after a body was found buried in the back garden of a house.

Fiona Beal, 48, was charged in the early hours of Sunday morning (20 March) after the body was found in the garden of the property in Northampton the previous day.

Northamptonshire Police said officers were initially called to the address in Moore Street, Kingsley, on Wednesday, after Beal was arrested at a hotel in Cumbria early that morning.

Forensic officers entry the property with a police dog in Moore Street, Kingsley, Northampton following a discovery of a body in a rear garden. The remains are expected be taken to Leicester where they will be forensically examined by a Home Office pathologist but are believed to be that of a missing 42-year-old male. The investigation was mounted following the arrest of Fiona Beal, 48, at a hotel in Cumbria early on Wednesday morning. She has now been charged with murder. Picture date: Sunday March 20, 2022.
The body was found following an extensive search of the property by forensics officers and a cadaver dog. (PA)

During the "extensive search" of the Northampton property by forensic officers and specialist search teams, including a cadaver dog, a body was found in the back garden on Saturday afternoon.

The body is believed to be that of a missing 42-year-old man, police said, but formal identification is yet to take place.

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The remains were due be taken to Leicester where to be forensically examined by a Home Office pathologist.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Pendlebury, from the Major Crime team of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), said: "Regrettably, I can confirm that a body has been found in the rear garden of the address.

Items are removed from the property in Moore Street, Kingsley, Northampton following a discovery of a body in a rear garden. The remains are expected be taken to Leicester where they will be forensically examined by a Home Office pathologist but are believed to be that of a missing 42-year-old male. The investigation was mounted following the arrest of Fiona Beal, 48, at a hotel in Cumbria early on Wednesday morning. She has now been charged with murder. Picture date: Sunday March 20, 2022.
The remains are expected be taken to Leicester where they will be forensically examined by a Home Office pathologist but are believed to be that of a missing 42-year-old man. (PA)

"We believe it to be that of a missing 42-year-old male, but formal identification has yet to take place.

"Police officers have been conducting house-to-house inquiries in the area over the past couple of days.

"This remains a complex and challenging investigation and we are appealing for anyone with any information to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 26 of March 16, 2022."

Beal was due to appear at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Monday, 21 March.

Forensic officers at the scene in Moore Street, Kingsley, Northampton following a discovery of a body in a rear garden. The remains are expected be taken to Leicester where they will be forensically examined by a Home Office pathologist but are believed to be that of a missing 42-year-old male. The investigation was mounted following the arrest of Fiona Beal, 48, at a hotel in Cumbria early on Wednesday morning. She has now been charged with murder. Picture date: Sunday March 20, 2022.
The investigation was mounted following the arrest of Fiona Beal, 48, at a hotel in Cumbria early on Wednesday morning. (PA)
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