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A woman who stole a vulnerable man’s mobility scooter, dragged him along the ground and “cruelly” left him to die in freezing conditions has been jailed.
Kimberley Ann Hawkins, 41, previously admitted killing Neil Shadwick after taking his scooter outside a Tesco superstore in Gloucestershire on 22 January last year.
Hawkins sped away on the scooter, dragging the father-of-two as he desperately clung on for up to a minute, before later dumping the vehicle on Bisley Old Road in Stroud, where it was found by a member of the public at about 8am.
Mr Shadwick, 63, who used his mobility scooter as his mode of transport, was left overnight in sub-zero temperatures and found unresponsive in the car park on Stratford Road, Stroud, hours later at 6am. He later died in hospital.
Gloucestershire Police described the actions of the defendant as “sickening” and said she knew Mr Shadwick, who had severe Parkinson’s, was “extremely vulnerable”.
Hawkins, of no fixed address, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter, as well as charges of aggravated vehicle taking, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, in relation to Mr Shadwick’s death.
She was sentenced to six years and six months imprisonment at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday – for the three offences connected to Mr Shadwick’s death as well as for other separate charges.
Sentencing Hawkins, Judge Peter Blair KC, the Recorder of Bristol, described the sequence of events that led the defendant to kill Mr Shadwick as “horrific”.
Noting that a neighbour described Hawkins as a regular visitor to Mr Shadwick’s house since the end of 2021, the judge said: “The reality is you extracted from him, or sought to extract from him, money to no doubt feed your then-drug habit.
“What we’ve watched in court is the horrific vision of you and he going to one shop then a cash point for him to get money out and then give to you, [before] it became apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to get any money out.”
Mr Justice Blair said the defendant then got into the driving seat of Mr Shadwick’s mobility scooter, which the victim was leaning on for support, before driving off. “You dragged him behind you for a considerable amount of time,” said the judge, describing Hawkins as “turning a blind eye” and Mr Shadwick as consequently “suffering abrasions”, before he became dislodged and Hawkins kept driving.
“You knew he was a very vulnerable man,” the judge told the defendant. “He was left there for some three hours without any ability to get help in the freezing cold.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court on her behalf, Mr Shadwick’s sister described her brother as “so obviously a vulnerable man” and said of his killing: “Neil was suddenly and cruelly taken away from us all.”
She told of being shown the CCTV footage of the incident. “I was horrified and have had flashbacks and nightmares about it ever since,” she said. “Neil didn’t deserve to be treated and abandoned in this way – nobody does.”
The court heard Hawkins and Mr Shadwick had gone to two cashpoints at about 2.30am to get money, after a sexual encounter.
CCTV showed the pair riding together on the scooter as they arrived at the second cashpoint at the Tesco superstore.
Hawkins gets off and Mr Shadwick is seen to get out of the seat and support himself with the scooter as he uses the cash machine.
She then suddenly jumps into the seat and speeds off, leaving Mr Shadwick desperately holding on as he is dragged away from the store.
Further footage shows Mr Shadwick holding on and kicking his legs as Hawkins escapes, causing his trousers to come off.
He falls off near the Tesco petrol station and then takes about 12 minutes to crawl back to the cashpoint to retrieve his bank card before collapsing on the ground.
The supermarket staff who arrived for work at about 5.45am found Mr Shadwick unconscious outside and alerted the emergency services.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, Mr Shadwick was able to tell them “Kim” and “robbery” before he was taken to hospital, where he died later that day.
Hawkins, who was wearing a coat, scarf, hat and gloves because the temperature was about minus 4C, abandoned the scooter on Old Bisley Road after it ran out of battery.
Mary Cowe, prosecuting, told the court Mr Shadwick was “extremely vulnerable” and lived in supported accommodation in Stroud, relying on carers visiting him four times a day.
She added: “[Hawkins] did what she did out of a fit of pique. It was selfish and spiteful but not premeditated. She told a friend she had performed sexual favours for Mr Shadwick and he couldn’t pay.”
Detective Inspector Adam Stacey, who led the investigation, said: “Hawkins’ actions were callous, and they had fatal consequences for a man whom she knew was extremely vulnerable.
“The footage from the early hours of that morning is heartbreaking to watch, as Neil Shadwick was abandoned in sub-zero temperatures in the street without his mobility scooter and therefore unable to seek shelter or help.
“The family feel robbed that they didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to Neil, as he was cruelly taken away from them.”
