Mick Philpott became one of the UK’s most infamous child killers when he wiped out six of his own family in an alleged attempt to frame his mistress for arson.
Along with Philpott, his wife Mairead and friend Paul Mosley were all charged with varying degrees of manslaughter.
To help understand how three depraved individuals ended up committing mass manslaughter on an unprecedented scale we need to go all the way back to a young Philpott and his violent past.
Mick Philpott was born in December 1956 in the English town of Derby in the East Midlands. Philpott’s extreme attitudes to women and domestic violence can be traced all the way back to 1978 when he was charged with the attempted murder of his girlfriend Kim Hill. During the course of their tumultuous relationship which began when Philpott was 19 and Hill was just 15, he had tried to assert his authority over her by controlling her every move and 
beating her if she dared step out of line. You didn’t say ‘no’ to Mick Philpott. If you got in his way or went against his way of doing things, you’d be likely to be knocked about as Kim found out. She received numerous injuries as a result of Philpott’s uncontrollable rage; Cracked cheekbone, broken nose, bite marks on her cheeks, broken fingers, smashed kneecap with a hammer. Not content with those minor indiscretions, Philpott attempted to finish her off by stabbing his girlfriend over twenty seven times because she had the audacity to attempt to leave him. In a frenzied attack where he clearly had every intention to end her life, he even stabbed her mother eleven times. Fortunately both lived to tell the tale but Kim required ongoing surgery for years as a result. Philpott though had no shame and, after the attack, he waited, knife in hand, for the police to arrive simply telling them that there was ‘no point’ as she was already gone.
The then 21 year old Philpott was charged with the attempted murder of Kim Hill and grievous bodily harm against the girl’s mother. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. However, he only served three years two months.
Upon his release a ‘reformed’ Mick Philpott went on to marry the love of his life Pamela Lomax with whom he fathered three children; two sons and one daughter.
Philpott soon moved on when he met 14 year old Heather Kehoe. He was 39 years of age when Kehoe ran away from home two years later on her 16th birthday to move in with Philpott. The young girl gave Philpott two more children, both boys. However, he wanted a girl so he beat up his young partner for her inability to produce one for him.
Mick Philpott practised abstinence for a decade before meeting Mairead Duffy in 2000. The then 44 year old teamed up with the 19 year old single mother. A year later, Philpott met 16 year old single mother Lisa Willis who moved 
into his home in 2002. Philpott married Mairead Duffy in 2003 and the three of them lived together in bizarre bliss,with Willis, the mistress, even being the bridesmaid at the wedding.
Philpott alternated sleeping with Mairead and Willis in their caravan which sat in their driveway. He managed to impregnate both women at the same time which was the subject of great debate in the media as was his demands for a larger council house to accommodate his growing collection of children from his various women. The trio appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2007 where they defended their lifestyle. Philpott came across as the arrogant self-absorbed person he was.
During another high-profile television appearance Mick Philpott’s extreme lifestyle was further exposed by former MP Ann Widdecombe in the much maligned series ‘Ann Widdecombe Versus The Benefits Culture’.
Mick Philpott’s life was about to take a turn for the even worse. The culmination of a lifetime of scandal, abuse, degradation and violence. On 11th May 2012 a fire broke out at the family home at 18 Victory Road in the Osmaston 
area of Derby. Emergency services rushed to the scene at around 4am to find it was already too late. Five young children – Jade aged 10, John aged 9, Jack aged 7, Jesse aged 6 and Jayden aged 5 all died of smoke inhalation as they slept in their beds. Despite desperate attempts from heroic neighbours to save the children nothing could be done. A sixth child, 13 year old Duwayne died in hospital two days later.
Five days after the heartbreaking death of their children Mick and Mairead Philpott held a press conference where he proceeded to explain the course of events surrounding the fire while holding his head in his hands wiping away tears. However, to the casual onlooker something seemed off about Philpott’s behaviour, especially when wiping away non-existent tears from his dry eyes. It was almost as if he was pretending to cry. Fake tears. Crocodile tears. Very very weird behaviour when talking about 
your six young children’s untimely deaths. Most importantly this behaviour was observed by police officers. These officers’ suspicions were enough to warrant bugging Philpott’s hotel room as just days before, petrol had been found inside the letterbox of the burnt down house, thus sparking a murder investigation. Bugging their hotel room further confirmed suspicions that the Philpotts were somehow involved, including the involvement of friend Paul Mosely. During the recording, Mosley was heard engaging in a sex act with Mairead (while Mick Philpott watched) which is again exceptionally weird and disturbing behaviour after you’ve just lost so many of your children.
Both Mick and Mairead Philpott were charged with murder on 30 May 2012. This was later downgraded to manslaughter as it wasn’t believed they had intentionally set out to kill the children.
A petrol container and glove had been discovered near the house. Both Philpott and Mosley’s clothes had had petrol on them. Mosley was subsequently also charged with murder which was also later downgraded to manslaughter.
On 22 June 2012 a joint funeral service was held whereby six tiny coffins were paraded through the streets of Derby for the service at St Mary’s Church. Neither Mick nor Mairead were able to attend as they were charged with their murders.
During the investigation it emerged that Philpott was embroiled in a custody battle with his former mistress Lisa Willis over the couple’s four children. She had left him several months prior and was due in court on the morning of the fire to debate custody. Philpott was angry that he was losing £1,000 per month in child benefit so was desperate to gain custody of his children. Fortunately those were not at the house at the time of the fire. To aid his court case 
against Willis, Philpott planned to frame her for burning down the house. Philpott was of course stupid enough to carry this out while his six children slept in their beds. In true Philpott narcissistic style he planned to make himself the hero by rushing in to save his children. He had propped a ladder up outside the little one’s bedroom where he would swoop in and save the day. The stupidity to put his children in any sort of danger on the off chance he may save them in time.
During the eight week trial shocking details emerged about Philpott’s bizarre behaviour in the days after his children died.
- Witnesses stated that Philpott sang at a karaoke night at his local pub. Ironically he sung ‘Suspicious Minds’. Meanwhile Mairead sat giggling. Not exactly the grieving couple who had just lost six precious children.
- When Philpott visited his children in the mortuary he grabbed the family liaison offer in a headlock. When offered a glass of water he pretended to faint and asked to have a gin with it instead.
- Philpott flirted with a woman police offer and invited her to his hotel room days after his children died
- Philpott, Mairead and Mosley had a threesome just hours before the house fire.
On 4th April 2013 Mick Philpott was found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of all six of his children and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of fifteen years. Both Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosely were sentenced to seventeen years each with a minimum of eight and a half years to be served.
Since his sentencing, Philpott has remained in HMP Wakefield and maintains his innocence. He will be eligible for parole in 2028.
Mairead was released on licence in November 2020 under a new identity. She has been spotted out and about, laughing and joking since her release, while Mosley was released in May 2021 before being returned to prison a year later for breaching his parole terms before being released again in November 2023.
Since the horrendous events of 11th May 2012 the local community have struggled to move on and the memories still linger. The house at 18 Victory Road was – along with the house next door – was demolished after the investigation and there now stands two new houses in their place.
