August 29, 2024, 4:10 p.m.

A homeless drug addict who stole a helpless man’s mobility scooter and left him to die in freezing temperatures has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Neil Shadwick, 63, was dragged by Kimberley Ann Hawkins, 41, as she sped away from a supermarket.

Gloucester Crown Court heard that after engaging in sexual intercourse, Hawkins and Mr Shadwick went to two cash machines to withdraw cash at around 2.30am on January 22 last year.

A surveillance camera showed the father of two children and the defendant riding together on the scooter to the second ATM in the Tesco supermarket on Stratford Road in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Hawkins gets out and Mr. Shadwick, who suffers from severe Parkinson’s disease, is seen getting up from his seat and leaning on the scooter while using the ATM.

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Then she suddenly jumps onto the seat and speeds away, leaving Mr. Shadwick desperately holding on as he is dragged out of the store.

Further footage shows Mr. Shadwick holding on and kicking his legs as Hawkins flees, causing his pants to be pulled off.

He falls near the Tesco petrol station and then takes about 12 minutes to crawl back to the cash machine and get his bank card before collapsing on the ground.

Supermarket staff, who arrived at work at around 5.45am, found Mr Shadwick unconscious outside and alerted emergency services.

Although Mr Shadwick was in and out of consciousness in the ambulance, he was able to say “Kim” and “robbery” before being taken to hospital, where he died later that day.

Hawkins, wearing a coat, scarf, hat and gloves in temperatures of around minus 4 degrees Celsius, abandoned the scooter on Old Bisley Road after the battery ran out.

Prosecutor Mary Cowe told the court that Mr Shadwick was “extremely vulnerable” and lived in sheltered accommodation in Stroud, relying on the services of carers who visited him four times a day.

“It was known that this defendant came to his home and was a regular visitor as of late 2021,” she said.

“This was a man who was physically vulnerable and that would have been obvious to any visitor.”

Miss Cowe described the incident that led to his death: “At one point he got off the scooter and used it to steady himself.”

“The defendant gets in and drives off. Kimberley Hawkins drove the scooter for 57 seconds, dragging Mr Shadwick along the road.

“The defendant drives off without stopping and leaves the scooter on Bisley Old Road.

“The temperature was below freezing that night and it was cold enough that the council activated the severe weather emergency protocol.

“Tesco staff described it as freezing that night, saying the temperature was between minus 4 and minus 6 degrees.”

She added: “She did what she did out of a fit of anger. It was selfish and malicious, but not premeditated.”

“She told a friend that she had performed sexual favors for Mr. Shadwick and he could not pay.

“A man who uses a mobility scooter, speaks slurredly and has difficulty walking is at risk.

“She had known him for many months and had been intimate with him. His level of vulnerability would have been clear to her even if she had just met him.”

Mr Shadwick’s daughter Victoria Bentley said her father must have been “very frightened” when he was left alone.

“Kimberley Hawkins knew that when she left her father in the parking lot that freezing cold night, she was leaving behind an incredibly vulnerable man who had no way to communicate as he could barely speak,” she said in a victim impact statement.

“He had no phone and no way to get help. He must have been terrified when he realised he had been abandoned and didn’t know if and when help would come.

“I looked at the security cameras and was horrified – she didn’t even turn around. She didn’t try to help him or call an ambulance. Then she hid. What was she trying to achieve by leaving him behind?”

Mr Shadwick’s sister Tania Rickards said at the time of his death their family had been battling the terminal illness of their brother Kevin, who died months later.

She said it was “unbelievable” that her brother was left behind.

“She didn’t even look back. She could have come back, but she didn’t,” she said.

“He must have been in so much pain. Neil didn’t deserve to be treated like that and abandoned. I’m so proud of the information he gave to the police.”

Hawkins, of no fixed address, had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter, aggravated vehicle theft and assault involving Mr Shadwick. She also admitted separate, unrelated theft and drug offences.

Defence lawyer Sarah Jenkins said the events only unfolded after Hawkins learned Mr Shadwick was unable to pay her.

“There was no premeditation, and she walked through the house, and it was only when the question of payment came up … that she herself used the word ‘frustration,'” she said.

Miss Jenkins said Hawkins was living in a tent in a cemetery at the time of the offences and was now remorseful.

“She was a single woman, a drug addict, who offered sexual services for payment to fund her Class A drug habit,” she said.

“No one would choose to live the way she lived back then.

“She will regret it for the rest of her life and wishes she could turn back time, she would.”

Judge Peter Blair KC, sitting in Bristol, imposed a six-year prison sentence for manslaughter, followed by a six-month prison sentence for the other offences.

“It was a freezing cold night in January 2023 when this happened,” the judge said.

“When you drove off, you dragged him along for quite a distance – for about a minute.

“It must have been obvious it was there, but you ignored it. It fell off or came loose and you carried on without thinking about it.

“From your interactions with him, you knew he was vulnerable.

“He was left alone in the freezing cold night for about three hours with no one to help him before Tesco staff arrived to work.

“He said he had been robbed and managed to give your full name.”