Derby Family Massacre: It Made Detectives Cry. True Crime Documentary.

[0:06]They say that every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves a child. This statement couldn't be truer in today's case. Instead of seeing his children as tiny humans who needed his protection, Mick Philpot saw them as his personal cash cows that brought in benefits from the government. His greed blinded him from their humanity in the worst way possible. He was fame hungry, narcissistic, and diagnosed as a psychopath who made everyone's life around him a living hell. In this video, we'll look at how Philpot and his accomplices took the lives of six young children, and what drove them to do this heinous act. Let's get started. Mick Philpot was born in 1956 in Derby, England. He was notorious for fathering 17 children with multiple women. And if you thought he had so many children because he loves them, you would sadly be mistaken. You see, he had practically no nurturing qualities. In fact, he was an extremely violent and unpredictable man. His toxic pattern of behavior with women and children started with his first relationship. When he was 19, he charmed a 15-year-old named Kim Hill, and they began dating shortly after. In the beginning, Kim saw Philpot as an ideal partner, but it didn't take long before he suddenly became abusive in every way you can think of. His violence was so uncontrollable that he even started beating her in public. In one incident at a pub, Philpot struck Kim across the mouth with a pool cue. Needless to say, she started bleeding severely, but no one dared to intervene or tried to help her. He would use any excuse he could find to harm her. For example, once Philpot broke her arm and fractured her kneecap with a hammer when she paid too much attention to a baby she had been minding. As a British army member, he would baselessly accuse her of infidelity when he returned from postings and physically assault her. He also shot Kim in the groin with a crossbow one time because he felt her dress had been too short. Kim, still in school, often lied about the cause of her injuries to protect Philpot. After two years of abuse, in July 1978, Kim plucked up the courage to send Philpot a breakup letter. In response, Philpot went AWOL from the army and broke into Kim's home. He attacked her in bed, stabbing her 27 times with a 9-inch knife. According to Kim, he told her menacingly, if I can't have you, no one else will. When Kim's mother intervened, Philpot stabbed her 11 times. Both Kim and her mother barely survived the attack. Despite being badly injured, her mother, who was a nurse, crawled to a phone and raised the alarm. Paramedics arrived to find Philpot on the stairs still holding the bloody knife. He told them, I wouldn't bother, she's a goner, I done a good job on her. Kim actually died twice in the ambulance and on the operating table as surgeons battled to save her life. Philpot had slit her stomach open and stabbed her on the back, arms and legs. She suffered collapsed lungs and a punctured bladder, kidney and liver. During the trial he lied and implied he stabbed her in self-defense, but all the evidence showed otherwise. Philpot was found guilty of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, but was released after serving just three years and two months. According to records, this early release was due to his good behavior. Needless to say, he received nothing more than a slap on the wrist and had absolutely no incentive to change his twisted ways, as we'll soon see. While in prison, he sent Kim letters, expressing remorse and even proposing to marry her upon his release. This horrific attack left Kim traumatized, and she is still receiving counseling four decades later. Recalling her hellish life with Philpot, Kim added, Do not say no to Mick Philpot. You don't say no to him - he doesn't understand the word. After his release from prison in 1986, Philpot married Pamela Lomax. They had three children together and he continued his abusive behavior. Pamela was too afraid to report him, knowing what had happened to his previous partner Kim. She prayed that he would move on to someone else, which is what he did. In 1993, Philpot, then 37, began a relationship with a 14-year-old girl named Heather Keough. Pamela left him after discovering the affair. The teenage Heather ran away from her parents to be with him on her 16th birthday and they had two sons. Philpot was abusive towards her, even beating her for not having a girl. He even taught his older sons to be violent against Heather. Philpot wanted Heather to produce more children, but she did not conceive again. She was often punished by being locked outside the house in the garden, and told police Philpot once held a knife to her throat when she tried to leave him. Eventually, she climbed over the fence and escaped him. Heather was forced to temporarily abandon her children before regaining custody after a long court battle. She said that Philpot was a Jekyll and Hyde character, charming when they first met, but later violent. In 2000, Philpot met 19-year-old Mairead Duffy. She was a single, teenage mother who had recently left an abusive relationship. Philpot, she said, became her guardian angel. They moved in together shortly after. He took on responsibility for her son and proposed to her in hospital after the birth of their first child, Jade. The following year, he also began a relationship with Lisa Willis, a 16-year-old orphan who also happened to be a single mother. She became his mistress and moved in with him and Mairead. Perhaps because of Philpot's domineering presence, Lisa and Mairead became very close. They regularly confided in each other, and Lisa said she had treated Mairead's children as her own. There is clearly a pattern here. All three women in Philpot's life had been teenagers when they met him. They had effectively been groomed while they were vulnerable. Philpot married Mairead in May 2003, with Lisa as the bridesmaid. From that year onwards, Philpot lived with both women and had 11 children in a three-bedroom council house. Both women worked while he remained unemployed, collecting their earnings and government benefits. Philpot actively tried to have more children to stack up his benefit payments. He requested a larger council house to accommodate his growing family, but was denied due to lack of availability.

[7:11]Will you take Maira Caroline to be your wife?

[7:19]Seven months pregnant with Mick's child on his wedding day. Philpot publicly defended his lifestyle, expressing pride in his large family and dismissing critics. He blamed the council for not providing adequate housing and argued that as an unemployed person, he deserved more assistance from the government. Philpot tried to bring media attention to his housing situation. He appeared on the Jeremy Kyle show in 2007, a program similar to the Jerry Springer show. On the show, Philpot defended his lifestyle and unemployment, claiming he couldn't get a job due to media coverage and his criminal record. He became agitated when questioned about his parenting and job prospects, which led to an argument with the host Jeremy over his irresponsible lifestyle. On the show, insisted he had undergone a vasectomy. He defended himself in typically heated fashion, making an offensive gesture and telling the host, Talk to that, pal. Talk to that. Philpot introduced his wife Mairead and his second wife Lisa Willis on the show, openly acknowledging his unconventional living arrangement. He claimed he didn't care what the public opinion was about his lifestyle and large family. Philpot also said he was prepared to divorce his wife to marry Lisa, and then divorce her simply so that she would not feel left out because she did not share the Philpot family name. He went on to have two more kids after it and was dubbed Britain's biggest scrounger after it was revealed he was raking in 25,000 pounds a year in benefits. So Philpot's plan to gain public support for a larger house was unsuccessful. Today I want to discover the man behind the headlines and uncover the truth about the guy who has been branded Britain's biggest scrounger.

[9:16]In 2007, Philpot appeared in an episode of a documentary series in which the then conservative MP Ann Widdecombe spent a week with him and tried to persuade him to change his lifestyle. She found Philpot three jobs, one of which was with a barrel making firm, but he did not turn up for work on the first day and the job fell through. In the documentary, Philpot was shown to be living in a caravan in his garden, in which his wife and mistress would alternate in spending nights with him. The MP said that Philpot did not care about anyone and that he used the word bitch to refer to both his wife and his mistress. She also noticed that none of his children sought affection from him. Although many people could not understand why the women in his life accepted their lot or even desired it. The general opinion was that his partners got on well with one another, but behind closed doors, the tensions between the throuple had reached a boiling point. I've got my kids, and I've got my family. That's all I care about. Look at us.

[10:20]Don't say so then. Can I just get there, if I could get the the distribution of children right? Is that right? I've got three with me first marriage, two with another young lady, five with Mairead, four with Lisa, and one with a new young lady, and two on the way. That's 15 now, plus two on the way. Plus one when I was in the armed services, which I've never never met. He asked Mairead to divorce him three times so he could marry Lisa. In 2010, Philpot was given a police caution for slapping Mairead and dragging her outside by her hair. But he wasn't nice to Lisa either. Philpot hit her with a piece of wood, threw a hot cup of coffee at her and prevented her from leaving the house or speaking with any men. In February 2012, Lisa had finally had enough of the toxic situation she was in. She decided to leave Philpot. She told Mairead she was taking her five children swimming but instead moved in with her sister. This was the only way she could leave without any confrontation. Three months after Lisa left, Philpot was still seething with anger and entangled in a rough custody battle over their five children. So he, along with his wife Mairead and a family friend named Paul Moseley, did the vilest thing you can think of. They planned to burn down their home with their own children inside and frame Lisa for it. The arson was scheduled for the day before a custody hearing between Lisa and Philpot. He wanted his children back, motivated by his greed for more benefit payments and the potential to get an even bigger council house. The plan involved Philpot and Mosley putting gasoline into the mail slot and setting fire to the house. Then Philpot would swoop in and rescue his six children from the fire, making himself look like a heroic father and win the custody battle. To say that this idea was misguided would be an understatement. On May 11th, 2012, at 4 AM, Philpot's plan to set fire to his house went tragically wrong. The fire spread much faster than anyone expected. It resulted in the deaths of six children: Jade, John, Jack, Jessie, and Jayden died at the scene, while their half-brother Duwayne died in the hospital two days later. All deaths were caused by excessive smoke inhalation. Fire investigators reported that temperatures in the upstairs bedrooms exceeded 500° Celsius, leaving no chance of survival for anyone in those rooms. Police confirmed that the fire was deliberately started with petrol under the letterbox, classifying it as arson and officially stating that six children had been murdered. I can't get in my bedroom. The kids are all upstairs. Six of them. Is it a terraced house? Please.

[13:08]Yeah, we've got some, we've got their police on the way. Have you any idea what caused the fire? I've no idea, mate. We've just been woken up by the alarm. All of these children belong to Mairead and Philpot, except Duwayne, who was her teenage son from a previous relationship. Jade was only 10 years old. She was described as very intelligent and well-regarded at school. Nine-year-old John was cheerful, smiley and polite. Jayden, a 5-year-old, loved lots of cuddles from family and friends. Shy and bashful Jack, 7, was the quietest sibling and a delight to be around. Jessie, 6 years old, was described as a loud character in the family. Duwayne, the eldest victim at just 13, was described as a charming and caring young boy, who was a protector for his younger brothers and sister. Nobody in the community had the slightest clue that a father could do such a thing. Many people who knew and socialized with Philpot and his family defended his lifestyle, saying negative representations of the area and the man did not live up to the reality. One local, Bobby Sutherland, was inspired to set up a charity to help pay for the funerals of the six children, whom he claimed Philpot loved desperately. Fighting back tears as he stood in the street outside the fire ravaged family home, he said at the time, Yeah, they can slag him off, but he loved his kids. Yeah, you make mistakes, but you don't deserve that. Nobody deserves that. This shows just how good Philpot was at manipulating the people around him and maintaining his image as a good husband and father. At first, Lisa Willis and her brother-in-law were questioned, but they were quickly cleared of any suspicion. Meanwhile, witnesses reported that Philpot behaved strangely for someone who had recently lost several of his children, and appeared to like the media attention. A mortuary manager said Philpot engaged in horseplay when he went to view his children's bodies, even putting a family liaison officer in a headlock during one visit. As part of their investigation, the police organized a press conference where Philpot and Mairead spoke. During this conference, Philpot thanked various people for their support, and announced their decision to donate Duwayne's organs to save the life of another child. He expressed gratitude for the community's response and requested privacy for his family, asking that all questions be directed to the police. This press conference actually increased police suspicions. Philpot's behavior was notably inappropriate, including flirting with a female police officer. She claimed that he called her gorgeous, and inferred he would like her to come back to his hotel. We can't express our gratitude to everybody that's been concerned with the case, with what's been going off. I've actually been down to my our house, and what we saw, we just can't believe it. We grew up in a community that's been had a lot of problems with violence and God knows where else and to see this community to to come together like they have it's just too overwhelming. The police found forensic evidence linking the Philpots to the crime. A discarded petrol container and glove had been found near the house. And in November, forensic investigators discovered that the clothes of the Philpots and Moseley had petrol on them. For further information, they placed a recording device in the police vehicle and their hotel room. The recorded conversations revealed incriminating statements from Philpot, including him saying it was his fault they lost their children and family. He can be heard saying, You definitely sticking with the story? I didn't mean to do it, on my life. Plus, the recording captured Philpot watching Mairead perform a sexual act on Paul Moseley, their accomplice. Philpot was heard telling his wife, I'm proud of you because you didn't want to do it. What did you say then? Tell me what you said to him then. What did you say about how many times I went up the ladders? I can't... I lost count of how many times you went up the ladders. What did you say about me trying to get in? You tried everything you could to get in. Like I said to him, I wanted to run through the flames, up the stairs. Was you crying when you were saying it? How bad? Not really, really bad but... I did cry. I was hysterical.

[17:47]I've let you both down, you and Lisa. It's my fault that half the family's gone. It's my fault that we've lost our children. It's my fault that we've lost the other five children. It's my fault we lost Lisa. I should have seen it all coming, Duck. Why is it your fault that we lost Lisa? Cos it is my fault.

[18:09]There's a fingerprint on the window, and that's it. A few discrepancies, that's all it is. One with Shakey about I said, are we gonna go out for a drive at night? I can't remember saying that. Vicky said you were stoned, and I said we didn't smoke.

[18:28]In police interviews, Moseley said he had sex with Mairead over a snooker table hours before the fire broke out. It's believed this act was encouraged by Philpot to keep Moseley loyal to their cause. Philpot even admitted having three or four sexual encounters with his wife and co-defendant Paul Moseley, not long after his children's deaths. These recordings, along with other evidence, such as an unused ladder found at the back of the house, intended for the planned rescue, also implicated Philpot, Mairead, and Paul Moseley in the arson plot. On May 28th, 2012, Philpot and Mairead were arrested on suspicion of murder. They were formally charged with murder two days later. On November 5th, 2012, Paul Moseley was also arrested on suspicion of murder after forensic examination revealed petrol on his clothing. The trial heard that Moseley had been bragging to a number of people about being a suspect, including on internet dating sites. Whatever Moseley's role, it seems that Philpot was keen to keep him on side, and police believe coercion may have been involved. In December, Moseley's charge was reduced to manslaughter. The murder charges against Philpot and Mairead were also eventually downgraded to manslaughter. Evidence showed that while they didn't intend to kill their children, they planned to frame Lisa for endangering the family in order to gain custody of her children. Their motivation was not solely revenge. More children meant more benefit money and potentially a larger house. On April 2nd, 2013, the couple, along with Paul Moseley, were found guilty of manslaughter for the deaths of the six children. Philpot received a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years in prison. Mairead and Paul Moseley each received 17-year sentences, with a minimum of eight and a half years to be served. Mairead later appealed against her sentence, but judges ruled the original term reflected the immeasurable harm she had caused. Court of Appeal judges said petrol found on her clothes showed she had participated in setting the fire, which had not been a spur of the moment plan. She had also lied after her arrest, the judges said, and continued to hide the truth during her trial. In her sentencing remarks, Mrs. Justice Thorwald said it was clear the fire was Philpot's idea. But she said Mairead's children died because she put her husband first. We therefore have come to the view that this sentence cannot be criticized. The judge was careful in reaching the conclusion she did. She gave very cogent and clear reasons for it. She assessed against her primary findings of fact, the blameworthiness of Mairead Philpot, and arrived at a sentence that reflected that very severe degree of blameworthiness, together with the immeasurable harm she had caused by the killing of her six children, for whom, like any other mother, she had absolute responsibility. We have after an examination of the circumstances and a careful consideration of the judges, come to the conclusion, without any hesitation, that this appeal must be dismissed. In November 2020, Mairead was released after serving half her term. She was eligible to be released on license and taken by convoy to a halfway house. According to a source for the Sun, her convoy was like one given to a celebrity, rather than a mum who killed her six children. Mairead was also given a new identity for her protection. The Center for Crime Prevention described the release as appalling and called for killers to serve their full sentences for such crimes. Paul Moseley, too, was released from prison in May 2021 after serving half his sentence, but returned to prison in 2022 after breaching terms of parole. In November 2023, he was released again. The parole panel stated, The panel was satisfied that imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public. So while Mairead and Moseley are free, Philpot is still in prison completing his minimum sentence of 15 years. Philpot was characterized as a monster, abusive to women and exploitative of the welfare system, who viewed children primarily as a source of income. Psychologist Glenn Wilson described Philpot as clinically a psychopath and exhibitionist with anti-social personality disorder. What did you think of this horrific case and everyone involved? Do you think their sentences were too light? Philpot definitely got away too lightly for his attempted murder charge in the 70s. Do you think these deaths were preventable had the justice system been harsher back then? Share your thoughts in the comments below. If you want more videos like this, please be sure to like the video, subscribe, and hit the notification bell, so you don't miss out on more true crime videos. See you in the next one.