JULIE Dixon initially blamed the murder of her fiancé on two masked intruders, before claiming it was a failed suicide pact.
The shocking case is featured in the new Channel 5 documentary A Killer Makes a Call.
Julie Dixon, 50, murdered her partner David Twigg in what Judge Michael Heath described as a “premeditated killing”.
She then made up two different stories, lying to the police in a failed attempt to cover her tracks.
At the time of his death, Mr Twigg had been in a relationship with Julie Dixon for 15 years.
Firefighters discovered Mr Dixon kneeling in a “prayer-type position” after breaking into his joinery business in Burgh le Marsh near Skegness, Lincolnshire, on March 13, 2011.
His body was found in a locked cupboard inside the premises.
He died from smoke inhalation.
Following his death, Dixon released a statement saying: “I am so numb with pain, my heart is broken.
“I’ve not just lost my partner of 15 years, I’ve lost the love of my life, my best friend and soul mate.”
For months after Mr Twigg’s murder, Dixon deceived the police, claiming to be the victim of a horrific attack by two fictional intruders.
During the 999 call, Dixon told the operator: “They set fire to the place.”
When asked about Mr Twigg, she replied: “He’s in the storeroom I think… I think they’ve locked him in.”
She went on to describe the made-up intruders as “dressed in black” and wearing “a hoodie… like a mask”.
David Twigg was an amiable, hard-working and honourable man. What you did to him was evil
Judge Michael Heath
But with no evidence to support her story, Dixon soon became prime suspect and was arrested.
She then went on to claim her fiancé’s death was the result of a failed joint suicide pact.
But analysis of her computer revealed that in the days leading up to the murder, she searched ways of killing someone that wouldn’t leave evidence which could be discovered in a post-mortem examination.
CCTV footage found by police also showed her buying two cans of petrol the day before the murder — she claimed she’d purchased it for the lawnmower.
During the trial Judge Michael Heath told Dixon: “David Twigg was an amiable, hard-working and honourable man. What you did to him was evil.
“There was a significant degree of planning and premeditation.
“The pain that your prolonged and multiple lying has caused David Twigg’s parents can only be imagined.”
He added: “Her performance in the 999 call and to the emergency crews at the scene, including to the firefighters and at the hospital, would have been worthy of the highest praise had she been an actress in some fictional drama and would have warranted an Oscar nomination.”
David was a… respected member of the community whose life was cut short in a brutal way and I hope his family and friends are able to take some comfort from the outcome of the court case
Det Ch Insp Stuart Gibbon
“I am sure that this was not an assisted suicide. I am sure it was a premeditated killing.
“David Twigg did not want to die.”
In January 2012, Dixon eventually pled guilty to Mr Twigg’s murder on the second day of her trial at Lincoln Crown Court — having changed her story twice and kept up the charade for three months following his death.
She was sentenced to 23 years in prison, where she remains.
After Dixon was sentenced, Lancashire Police’s Det Ch Insp Stuart Gibbon said: “Even now, she has failed to admit her full involvement in the death of David Twigg and we may never know the full circumstances of why she carried out the actions she did.
“David was a hard working, respected member of the community whose life was cut short in a brutal way and I hope his family and friends are able to take some comfort from the outcome of the court case.”
In a statement after Dixon’s sentence, Mr Twigg’s parents said: “We have lost our only son, David, at the hands of someone we have loved and treated as a daughter.
“David was a kind, decent, hard-working man who took great pride in that work and the service he provided to people.
“We do not want to comment on our thoughts about Julie Dixon who has finally admitted to murdering our wonderful son but have to say we are happy to see justice finally done and will leave her with her own thoughts.”
You can watch the episode of A Killer Makes a Call about the murder of David Twigg on Tuesday, May 21.
The documentary airs between 10pm and 11.30 pm on Channel 5.
If you miss the show, fear not, as you can catch it on the channel’s streaming service — My5 — after it has been broadcast.
