Mother accused of killing her six children in house fire 'had termination after falling pregnant by another man during affair'
- Mairead and Michael Philpott both accused of starting a house fire last year
- Six of their children were killed by the blaze as they slept in their beds
- Mrs Philpott's colleague Claire Tyler tells court the mother had an abortion
- Ms Tyler tells jury Mrs Philpott's baby was fathered by another man
|
Co-accused: Mairead Philpott, left, allegedly had an abortion because the baby was fathered by a man who wasn't her husband Michael, right
A mother jointly accused of killing her six children in a house fire had an abortion after falling pregnant with another man's baby, a court heard today.
Mairead Philpott, 31, is jointly charged with her husband Michael, 56, of starting a house fire which killed six of their young children as they slept in their beds.
Mrs Philpott's colleague Claire Tyler today told the court how the mother had taken time off work at the Royal Derby Hospital in 2011 to see her doctor about having a termination.
She told the court Mrs Philpott was pregnant with another man's child after having sex with him in front of her husband.
Shaun Smith QC, Mrs Philpott’s barrister, asked Ms Tyler: 'It’s the case, isn’t it, that she had had sex with another man and the child was a result of that?
'And that was when Mick was there, that she had had sex with another man?'
'Yes,' Ms Tyler replied.
Ms Tyler added that Mrs Philpott was bubbly and very talkative during her work as a hospital cleaner, but her personality would change when her husband picked her up from work and she became very subdued.
'She loved her job,' she said. 'She saw it as a break to get away from her home life and children.'
As soon as her husband would pick her up at work and she got into the van, her mood would change 'instantly', Ms Tyler said, and she would become subdued and even agitated.
Accused: Mairead Philpott and her husband Michael, pictured with the six children who died in the house fire, are both accused of manslaughter
She also told how she overheard Mr Philpott saying someone being interviewed by police was 'going to drop us in it'.
Nottingham Crown Court heard how Mr Philpott allegedly made the comments on the phone days after the house fire in Derby last May.
Ms Tyler told jurors she heard his side of the conversation. She said: 'I heard him say he has not got the story right.'
Prosecutor Richard Latham QC asked her: 'When he said he has not got the story right, did he say what the consequence was going to be?'
'He’s going to drop us in it,' she replied.
'He has not got the story right. He’s going to drop either us or me in it. You heard him say that on the phone?' Mr Latham asked. She replied: 'Yes.'
On trial: Michael Philpott (left), his wife Mairead (centre) and defendant Paul Mosley (right) have been accused of starting the fire which killed the children
In cross-examination, Anthony Orchard QC, defending Philpott, suggested to Ms Tyler that she only heard one side of the conversation, that she did not know who Philpott was talking about, she had not made any notes of what exactly he had said, and that the man he was said to be talking about had nothing to do with this case.
Ms Tyler, who had known Mairead Philpott for around seven years when they worked together as hospital cleaners, agreed with Mr Orchard’s submission.
She was giving evidence at the trial in which Philpott and his 31-year-old wife are accused of the manslaughter of their six children. A third defendant, 46-year-old Paul Mosley, also stands accused of the same charges.
Ms Tyler also admitted Mrs Philpott had told her about her triangular relationship at home.
Mrs Philpott and her husband lived at the property in Victory Road with Lisa Willis, 29, who was Philpott's mistress.
Mick and Mairead Philpott, pictured with five of the six children who died in the house fire. The other identities have been obscured for legal reasons
A total of 11 children also lived there - six were those of Mr and Mrs Philpott, four were Miss Willis's who were fathered by Philpott, and one child was Miss Willis's from a previous relationship.
Ms Tyler said Mrs Philpott told her about when Miss Willis left the family home with her five children in February and described the effect it was having.
'She was getting blamed for Lisa going,' she said. 'Blamed by?' Mr Latham asked. 'Her husband,' Ms Tyler answered.
Jade, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13, all perished after a fire which engulfed their home in Victory Road, Allenton, Derby, in the early hours of May 11 last year.
All three defendants have denied the charges.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279226/Mother-accused-killing-children-house-termination-falling-pregnant-man-affair.html#ixzz2KzoPvZ3W
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment