Woman, 48, charged with murder after missing 42-year-old man’s body was found in Northampton garden

A woman has been charged with murder after discovering a body buried in her back garden.

Fiona Beal, 48, was arrested at a hotel in Cumbria shortly after midnight on Wednesday after police opened a murder investigation a few days earlier.

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Initially, police were called to an address in Moore Street, Northampton, where they began searching the entire property.

Forensic officers and expert search teams, including a dead dog, were deployed and a body was found buried in the back garden yesterday afternoon.

They believe it belongs to a 42-year-old missing man.

The remains are expected to be taken to Leicester, where they will be forensically examined by a Home Office pathologist.

DCI Adam Pendlebury, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit’s major crime squad, said: “Unfortunately, I can confirm that a body was found in the back garden of the address.

“We believe it is from a missing 42-year-old man, but an official identification has not been made.

“Police officers have been conducting door-to-door investigations in the area for the past few days.

“This remains a complex and challenging investigation and we urge anyone with any information to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101, citing incident number 26 16 March 2022 .”

Beal will appear at the Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning.

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