The Worst Father in History
Or, how Mick Philpott cemented his place as one of the most hated Brits
I genuinely felt rage, real and present rage, as I was writing this post. If you feel strongly about people who harm children or women, and you aren’t yet familiar with this story, it could be one to skip.
Yes, all of the posts on this blog are about murders and killers. But sometimes one of them goes further than the others. And while the criminal career of someone like Amelia Dyer may feel far enough in the past for us to discuss and judge it easily, unfortunately, the tale of the Philpotts is still all too recent.
Killer: Michael Philpott, Mairead Philpott, Paul Mosley
Victims: Jade Philpott (10), John Philpott (9), Jack Philpott (7), Jesse Philpott (6), Jayden Philpott (5), Duwayne Philpott (13)
Date: 11th May 2012
Location: Osmaston, Derby, Derbyshire
Method of Murder: Arson
Timeline 07.1978 | Philpott attempts murder of Kim Hill 12.1978 | Philpott sentenced to 7 years 1981 | Philpott released 1986 | Philpott marries Pamela Lomax 1991 | Philpott given conditional discharge for ABH 1995 | Philpott moes in with Heather Kehoe 2002 | Philpott, Mairead Duffy, Lisa Willis move in together 2003 | Philpott marries Mairead Duffy 2006 | Philpott hits headlines as father on benefits 2010 | Philpott cautioned for domestic violence 2011 | Philpott charged for road rage punch 11.05.2012 | Fire at 18 Victory Road 28.05.2012 | Philpott, Mairead arreted on suspicion of murder
Michael Philpott first became a news headline in 1978, when he was 21 years old1.
It was not an auspicious start to his media career. Philpott had been dating Kim Hill since she was 15; two years into their relationship, he tried to kill her.
It was not the first time he had been violent towards her. In the past, he had shot her in the groin with a crossbow for wearing a short dress, and cracked her hammer with a kneecap as punishment for paying attention to a baby she was supposed to be minding. But in July 1978, Kim sent him a letter saying she didn’t want to be with him anymore.
Philpott’s reaction was violent and angry. He found her laying in bed in her bedroom and stabbed her over a dozen times. He punctured her bladder, kidney, and liver, and collapsed one of her lungs. He also stabbed Kim’s mother when she tried to help her daughter.
For the attempted murder of Kim and GBH (grievous bodily harm) against her mother, he was sentenced to only seven years in prison. He was released after three years and two months2.
In 1986, Philpott married his first wife, Pamela Lomax3. They had three children together: two sons and a daughter. Pamela’s wish that he would stop controlling them and leave her alone was granted when he met another teenager, Heather Kehoe, who was 14 at the time.
Philpott was 37.
The day she turned 16, Kehoe ran away to live with Philpott. Before long, she was giving him two sons - but he beat her because he had wanted a daughter.
During all of this, Philpott made his second headline, though it wasn’t as widely written about as the others. This was just a two-year conditional discharge for assault occasioning ABH (actual bodily harm), because he had headbutted someone at his workplace4.
By the third time he hit the news, Philpott’s life had grown increasingly complicated. He had met Mairead Duffy when she was 19 in the year 20005, a single mother from an abusive relationship. But in 2001 he met Lisa Willis, a 16-year old single mother and orphan6.
How was he to choose which he preferred?
Simple: he kept them both.
He moved Willis into his council house as his mistress in 2002, but then proceeded to marry Duffy in 2003 - shockingly, Willis was their bridesmaid. In 2006, his request for a larger council house to accommodate his family was picked up and sensationalised by the scandalised tabloid media7.
Why did three people need a bigger home? Well…
The house was home to Philpott, Mairead, and Lisa, aged 25 and 22 by this time. Then there was Mairead’s child and Lisa’s child, each born before they met Philpott. Next there were the three other children Mairead had given birth to since meeting Philpott… and the three that Lisa had given birth to.
And then the news broke that both Mairead and Lisa were also expecting more babies, to be born in March 2007.
Media appearances during this time were aimed to draw as much attention to Philpott himself as possible. He appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show8, telling the host that he wanted to marry his mistress and divorce Mairead, and that he would also get a vasectomy. It’s not fully clear whether this was simply intended to shock or actually genuine.
In 2007, he was invited onto an episode of television show Anne Widdecombe Versus, in which the MP9 tried to persuade him to hold down a job and change his life - which consisted of sleeping in a caravan outside the house, where his wife and mistress would alternate nights with him.
He failed to show up for work at the jobs she arranged for him. Chillingly, Widdecombe noted that none of his children sought affection from him10. They probably knew they would not get it.
The violence and controlling behaviour continued. In 2010, Philpott was given a police caution after he slapped Mairead and dragged her out of their house by her hair11. In 2011, after he and Mairead went dogging, she became pregnant by another man; he ordered her to have an abortion, which she went through with12.
In 2011, he punched a fellow driver in a case of road rage. The court hearing did not take place until 2012, when he was bailed to await trial13.
Which is when Philpott made the news in a big way for the third time.
At first, the reaction was sympathetic.
The parents appeared on television to wail and bemoan what had happened to them14.
Their home, at 14 Victory Lane in Osmaston, caught on fire at around 4 in the morning. There were six children asleep in the house - all of Mairead’s brood.
Jade was ten, John was nine, Jack was seven, Jesse was six, and Jayden was just five. All of Philpott’s children by Mairead died of smoke inhalation inside that house.
Duwayne, her 13-year-old son by another father, died in hospital after two days.
Mick Philpott and his wife gave a tearstained press conference in which they appealed for help in finding the mystery arsonist who had started the fire. They wept into tissues as Philpott explained how he tried to save his children but couldn’t get past the flames. He was even hailed a hero.
At first.
The public donated more than £11,000 to pay for the funerals of the children15. There was an outpouring of support from the local community, particularly the Catholic church16. Neighbours even set up a charity to support the grieving family17.
And it all came crashing down when Mairead and Mick were arrested on the 28th May 2012, leaving them unable to attend that paid-for funeral when it took place in June18.
At this point of the post, I would normally lay out an in-depth look at what really happened, rewriting the given story for the real one. But in this case, I find that all I want to do is get this post over with as quickly as possible. Another inch of space dedicated to Philpott seems far more than he should ever have.
The long and short of it is this: the couple were acting suspiciously, almost as if they enjoyed the attention they were getting, so the police bugged their hotel room19. That’s when they heard them discussing everything they had done.
The intention of Mick and Mairead, with the help of friend Paul Mosley, was to burn down their house. They would then be able to frame Lisa Willis for the fire. You see, Willis had decided to leave and take her children with her, and on the morning of the fire she was supposed to be attending a court hearing over custody.
Once they framed Willis, they could keep the children - meaning they could keep the child benefit payments that came along with them20.
The whole sordid affair ended with everyone being charged with manslaughter. Mairead was sentenced to seventeen years but was released on license in 2020 after serving half21. Mosley was sentenced to seventeen years. Philpott was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of fifteen years.
Fifteen years for ending the lives of six children, for a man who was inside before and demonstrated well he was willing to offend again.
I don’t believe in the death penalty. But, by god. Sometimes you wish for the death penalty.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/02/mick-philpott-violent-control-freak
http://www.newstatesman.com/alan-white/2013/04/was-tragedy-really-vile-product-welfare-uk
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-21519890
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-22011190
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Philpott-live-updates-day-22-Derby-manslaughter/story-18410135-detail/story.html
http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Philpott-trial-day-3-Mick-Philpott-s-ex-mistress/story-18134412-detail/story.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1534303/Jobless-and-shameless.html
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Nation-shares-grief-controversial-dad-revelled/story-16062470-detail/story.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Widdecombe
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2007/aug/23/lastnightstvthesecretlife?INTCMP=SRCH
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9969181/Mick-Philpott-faced-road-rage-charge-for-punching-motorist.html
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Philpott-Live-updates-day-24-manslaughter-trial/story-18449492-detail/story.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9969181/Mick-Philpott-faced-road-rage-charge-for-punching-motorist.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18031768
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Hundreds-touched-Philpott-tragedy-fund-raisers/story-16208647-detail/story.html
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/life-deal-scale-s-just-terribly-tragic/story-16062505-detail/story.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-18046598
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18533180
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/philpott-fire-trial-guilty-of-manslaughter-but-circumstances-of-the-blaze-remain-largely-unknown-8557283.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-20758906
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55121137