SITTING by her dad’s bedside as he took his final breaths, Shannon Mullan was unable to focus entirely on her grief.
Shannon’s mind was instead fixed on how just three days earlier, her ex-partner had flown into a violent rage all because she wanted to spend time with her dying dad.
Cruel Phillip Hill told her: “Your dad has had 60 years. You should spend your time with me.”
In the horrific attack which happened just 72 hours before Shannon’s dad Ben passed away, Hill strangled the mum of his children and doused her in boiling hot gravy.
Now, as Hill starts a prison term, mum-of-four Shannon, 29, recalls: “I was so close to my Dad, and I wanted to look after him in his dying days.
“But every time I took him to hospital, or I went to see him, Phillip complained. He was so controlling; he didn’t like me to do anything which didn’t involve him.
“It is such a relief to have him out of my life, but I will never forgive him for ruining my final days with my dad.”
Shannon and Hill met on a night out in Mold, Wales, five years ago and Shannon says she liked him from the off.
He lavished her with gifts and bonded with her son from a previous relationship, as well as her family.
“Philip was generous and kind, he took me out, bought me flowers and chocolates and new dresses,” says Shannon.
“He’d buy me perfumes and make-up and he booked nice restaurants and days out. He treated me so well. I had a young son, and he was great with him.
“He had his own place, a good job as a joiner, and he seemed like the perfect man for me.
“As a single mum, I wasn’t used to someone putting me first, and it was really nice. My parents met him, and they loved him too.”
The couple went on to have three children together.
But it was during her pregnancy with their second child that Shannon noticed a change in Hill.
She explains: “He became irritable and picky.
“He didn’t like me seeing my friends and family and I became very lonely and isolated without really realising.
“Phillip had lots of rules, and one of them was that I had to spend a period of time with him on my own every day.
“It wasn’t always practical; we had four young children, and his demands became very draining.
“He was drinking heavily, and then he lost his job. I felt I couldn’t cope with it any longer.”
It was in March 2023, when Shannon’s dad was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Shannon wanted to be there for her dad who already had concerns about his daughter’s partner.
She says: “I am really close to my family, I live on the same street as my parents and saw them every day, often behind Phillip’s back.
“Dad was brilliant, doing school runs and baby-sitting. I relied on him, and we got on so well. We had the same sense of humour.
“Dad saw before I did that Phillip was no good for me; he noticed I was quiet and withdrawn. But he tried not to say too much, because he didn’t want to cause me any problems.”
Shannon was able to break away from Hill shortly after her dad was diagnosed but he was persistent.
“After Dad came home from the hospital with the diagnosis, I went to my parents’, and we were all shell shocked,” she says.
“But even on that day, Phillip was calling me, insisting I went home because he needed me.
“I was appalled and I asked him to leave soon after. My parents were relieved.”
Phillip began complaining about me taking Dad to his hospital appointments
Shannon Mullan
The couple were apart for nine months but early in 2024 they decided to give their relationship another go.
Shannon was keen to keep her family together whilst helping care for her dad.
She says: “Phillip promised he’d changed, and I wanted to give our family a chance, for the children.
“By this time, Dad was very poorly. The cancer had spread, and his treatment wasn’t working. It was stressful and I was helping out as much as I could.
“Phillip was fine for a few weeks but then he began complaining about me taking Dad to his hospital appointments or running errands for him.
“He didn’t even like me messaging because he said I was on my phone and not fully present for him.
“My mum is disabled, my two brothers work full-time, and so I was the only one nearby with a car. Dad needed me.”
By August this year, Ben, 66, was reaching his final days but as her dad’s condition deteriorated, Hill made life even harder for Shannon.
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Three days before Ben passed away, Hill carried out the brutal attack.
“I had to collect a prescription for Dad before the chemist closed,” Shannon recalls of that night.
“We had a roast dinner cooking and Phillip flew into a rage, saying I thought more of my dad than I did of him, and I should be staying at home with my family.
“He threw a pan of hot gravy all over me but I was so focused on getting to the chemist, I just changed my clothes and ran out.”
When Shannon returned home, the attach escalated.
Phillip accused her again of neglecting him and pinned her down on the kitchen floor with his hands around her neck.
She says: “He was shouting that I’d had years with Dad and I needed to prioritise him and the family instead.
“He threw me against the kitchen cupboards then shoved me to the floor and pinned my arms by my sides.
“He had his hands around my neck, and he was strangling me. For a few moments I thought he was going to kill me, it was so scary.
“When he let go, I tried to wriggle free. He suddenly seemed to come to his senses, and I was able to run away.”
Shannon scrambled to a neighbour’s house for help and in the meantime it was Philip himself who called the police admitting what he’d done.
Shannon adds: “He was arrested, but I could barely think about it. I was so upset about Dad, who had really deteriorated.”
At her dying father’s bedside, Shannon was distracted with calls from the police and welfare services.
She says: “Even then, in his final moments, Phillip managed to make it all about him. I can never forgive him for that. It broke my heart to lose my dad.
“It was horrendous, trying to plan a funeral and cope with my grief, as well as facing the court case.
“But despite everything, I am glad I saw this through.”
Phillip Hill, 33, appeared at Mold Crown Court last month and was jailed for 15 months, having previously admitted common assault, intentional strangulation and assault by beating.
He was also handed a five-year restraining order.
Prosecutor Anna Price said Hill “appeared to have an issue with the amount of attention” Shannon was giving to her terminally-ill father rather than him.
During sentencing, Judge Rhys Rowlands added: “What an absolutely appalling picture. He’s aware that his partner is having to deal with the tragic end of life of her father.
“I’m truly appalled at how people can behave at times.
“She must have been terribly vulnerable, and under a huge degree of stress.”
Shannon says that while she can never get back those final moments with her dad, she knows he’s proud of how she’s since moved on with her life.
She adds: “I miss Dad every day, but I know he would be proud to see me coping well, with my children, and looking to the future.”
