‘SHE COULD HAVE WON AN OSCAR’ Judge slams lying arson killer

EVIL ACT: Liar Julie Dixon with her partner David Twigg before she killed him in a fire at his works

( A JUDGE blasted a debtplagued woman for telling a “pack of lies” after she murdered her fiance by locking him in a cupboard at his work…then setting the building on fire.

Judge Michael Heath said Julie Dixon’s lies to emergency and hospital staff after killing lover David Twigg was “worthy of the highest praise had she been an actress” and “warranted an Oscar nomination”.

But instead of walking the Hollywood red carpet, Dixon took the long walk to the cells – after being jailed for life with a recommendation she serve at least 23 years.

Dixon concocted two stories to explain why her partner had been locked in a cupboard at his workshop before the premises were torched.

But police saw through Dixon’s elaborate lies and charged her with his murder.

At a Newton Hearing – held when a defendant has pleaded guilty but prosecution and defence disagree on factual issues – at Lincoln Crown Court, her months of deception were revealed.

The court was played a panicked 999 call made by Dixon on the night Twigg died at their joinery business in Burgh le Marsh in March.

She claimed she’d escaped from two robbers, dressed in black, who had raided the premises before locking Mr Twigg in the workshop and setting the place on fire.

Evidence

Her account of the violent incident – recorded during her intial 999 call – shocked the local community.

But police officers combing the scene found no evidence of masked men.

Despite this, Dixon stuck to her story, lying to Mr Twigg’s devastated family for several months.

The hearing was told she even collapsed in grief at their home at one point.

Meanwhile, cops continued to weigh up Dixon’s version of events and in June they arrested her, subsequently charging her with murder.

Dixon then turned to a second story, admitting to killing Mr Twigg but claiming it had been part of a suicide pact the pair had entered into due to financial troubles.

In a statement read out in court, she said: “David and I decided that day to jointly commit suicide in the workshop.

“David poured petrol which I had bought on to the workshop floor.”

Dixon said she was unsure whether to go ahead but took the matches, lit one and threw it on to the petrol, but then claims she lost her nerve and fled the scene. The judge discounted both scenarios.

Police said money may not have been the sole motive for the murder.

Det Ch Insp Stuart Gibbon said: “She may well be the sort of person who will never fully accept responsibility for her actions.”