A homeless drug addict who assaulted an elderly Parkinson’s sufferer, robbed him of his mobility scooter and left him to die in sub-zero temperatures has been jailed.
Kimberley Ann Hawkins, 41, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Neil Shadwick, 63, in June following his death in Stroud, Gloucestershire last year.
He was found unresponsive in the car park of a Tesco Superstore on Stratford Road on January 22, without his mobility scooter, which he used as his mode of transport.
Hawkins was sentenced to six and a half years in jail at Gloucester Crown Court today.
Mr Shadwick’s daughter Victoria Bentley said her ‘incredibly vulnerable’ father must have been ‘terrified’ as he was left to die.
Homeless drug addict Kimberley Ann Hawkins who assaulted an elderly Parkinson’s sufferer, robbed him of his mobility scooter and left him to die in sub-zero temperatures has been jailed
The 41-year-old pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Neil Shadwick, 63, (pictured) in June following his death in Stroud, Gloucestershire last year
A member of the public discovered Mr Shadwick shortly before 6am. Emergency services were called and he was rushed to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where he died later the same day.
CCTV footage previously released by police showed Mr Shadwick driving up to a cashpoint in the early hours of the morning with a woman riding on the back of his scooter.
He appeared to withdraw cash while the woman, who appeared agitated, waited nearby.
The pair then climbed back onto the scooter and drove away.
Shadwick was found less than a mile away from the cashpoint on the Sunday morning, while the scooter was found abandoned by a member of the public on Bisley Old Road over a mile away.
Police said Hawkins had stolen and rode away on the mobility scooter, leaving Mr Shadwick to die in sub-zero temperatures.
The supermarket staff who arrived for work at about 5.45am found Mr Shadwick unconscious outside and alerted the emergency services.
Hawkins was sentenced to six and a half years in jail at Gloucester Crown Court
Security CCTV showed a man, who is believed to be Neil Shadwick, driving up to a cashpoint with a woman in a long grey coat on the back of his scooter
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 previously admitted charges of aggravated vehicle taking, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, in relation to the incident, in April 2023.
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 did what she did out of a fit of pique. It was selfish and spiteful but not premeditated,’ she said.
‘She told a friend she had performed sexual favours for Mr Shadwick and he couldn’t pay.’
Mr Shadwick’s daughter Mrs Bentley issued a statement and said it was ‘horrific’ to have to identify her dad’s body ‘under such terrible circumstances’.
The man, believed to be Mr Shadwick, is seen at a cashpoint while the unnamed woman stands metres away and looks agitated
The Tesco Superstore car park in Stroud, Gloucestershire, where Neil Shadwick, who suffered from Parkinson’s, was found unresponsive in January last year
He was found unresponsive in the car park without his mobility scooter, which he used as his mode of transport
Kimberley Hawkins knew by leaving Dad in that car park, on a freezing cold night, that she was leaving an incredibly vulnerable man who had no way of communicating as he could barely talk,’ she added.
‘He didn’t have a phone and he had no way of getting any help.
‘He must have been terrified realising that he’d been abandoned and not knowing when or if help would arrive.’
Detective Inspector Adam Stacey, from the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: ‘Hawkins’ sickening actions had tragically fatal consequences for a man whom she knew full well to be extremely vulnerable.
‘I welcome her guilty plea, which has meant that Mr Shadwick’s family at least have not had to endure a lengthy trial in court.
‘Our thoughts remain with his family at this very difficult time.’
