Primary school teacher denies killing partner as ‘revenge’ for suspected affair

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Admitting that she had written the message while pretending to be Mr Billingham, Beal told the court: “It wasn’t a kind thing to do.” During Mr Perian’s cross-examination, the 49-year-old said she did not know what had happened to Mr Billingham’s clothing, belongings and credit cards. “I remember dragging something heavy into the garden but it’s not a clear memory.” Asked about her use of Mr Billingham’s phone to view pornography online after his death, Beal told the court: “It would have to be me, yes. At the conclusion of his cross-examination, Mr Perian put it to Beal that the killing had “nothing to do with cannabis use.” Beal answered: “I don’t know.” She then rejected the suggestion that she had killed Mr Billingham because she suspected he was having an affair, telling the jury: “No. Mr Perian continued: “This was a revenge killing wasn’t it?” Beal answered: “No.” Reacting to the suggestion by Mr Perian that a “confession book” found shortly before her arrest was a written record of what she had actually done, Beal told the jury: “No, I say it’s just a journal.” The trial was adjourned until Thursday.