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| Mick Philpott trial told of accused's alternating nights with wife and lover | Mick Philpott trial told of accused's alternating nights with wife and lover |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The former mistress of a man accused of killing his children in a house fire has told a court how she and his wife used to alternate the nights they would sleep with him. | The former mistress of a man accused of killing his children in a house fire has told a court how she and his wife used to alternate the nights they would sleep with him. |
| Lisa Willis, 28, said she would sleep with Mick Philpott one night and his wife, Mairead, 31, would sleep with him the next at the home they shared with their children. | |
| Willis told the court about the domestic arrangements during the manslaughter trial of 56-year-old Philpott. | Willis told the court about the domestic arrangements during the manslaughter trial of 56-year-old Philpott. |
| She told Nottingham crown court: "We took it in turns, we never had all three of us together. We would take it in turns at night so one night it would be me, one night it would be Mairead." | She told Nottingham crown court: "We took it in turns, we never had all three of us together. We would take it in turns at night so one night it would be me, one night it would be Mairead." |
| Willis said the children slept upstairs and this arrangement continued until they bought a caravan which was kept on the driveway of the house. | Willis said the children slept upstairs and this arrangement continued until they bought a caravan which was kept on the driveway of the house. |
| The woman who slept Philpott on a particular night stayed in the caravan with him, while the other woman slept inside with the children. | The woman who slept Philpott on a particular night stayed in the caravan with him, while the other woman slept inside with the children. |
| Philpott denies six counts of manslaughter in relation to the deaths of his six children with Mairead – Jade, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13. Mairead and a third defendant, 46-year-old Paul Mosley, also deny the same six charges. | Philpott denies six counts of manslaughter in relation to the deaths of his six children with Mairead – Jade, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13. Mairead and a third defendant, 46-year-old Paul Mosley, also deny the same six charges. |
| The six children died after flames engulfed their home in Victory Road, Allenton, Derby, as they slept in their beds in the early hours of 11 May 2012. | |
| Richard Latham QC, the prosecutor, says the Philpotts and Mosley started the fire in order to "set up" Willis as the culprit. Philpott was facing a custody battle with Willis, with whom he had had four children. She had ended their relationship months earlier. | |
| Willis, who gave evidence to the court from behind a screen, said she had met Philpott when she was 17, and that he was a friend of her sister. She had a young son with another man and was living in a two-bed council house at the time, but was hoping to move to larger accommodation, which she was struggling to get. | Willis, who gave evidence to the court from behind a screen, said she had met Philpott when she was 17, and that he was a friend of her sister. She had a young son with another man and was living in a two-bed council house at the time, but was hoping to move to larger accommodation, which she was struggling to get. |
| After getting better acquainted with Philpott he suggested she moved in with him and his wife, though they were not married at the time. | After getting better acquainted with Philpott he suggested she moved in with him and his wife, though they were not married at the time. |
| The couple had a son and a daughter and Willis told the court that when they decided to marry she was a bridesmaid at their wedding. | The couple had a son and a daughter and Willis told the court that when they decided to marry she was a bridesmaid at their wedding. |
| Her relationship with Philpott became sexual "weeks" after she moved in to the Victory Road council house, and this did not bother Philpott's wife, she said. | Her relationship with Philpott became sexual "weeks" after she moved in to the Victory Road council house, and this did not bother Philpott's wife, she said. |
| "Mick said he asked Mairead about it, if she was OK about it, and apparently she turned round and said she was fine. He asked her in front of me as well and said, 'I've asked you about Lisa moving in' and she said, 'yeah, I'm fine about it'." | |
| Latham put it to her: "There's a difference between you moving in and having a sexual relationship." | Latham put it to her: "There's a difference between you moving in and having a sexual relationship." |
| Willis replied: "She was fine." | Willis replied: "She was fine." |
| She told the court about an incident of violence relatively early on in their relationship, when she claimed Philpott repeatedly hit her on the legs, back and arms with a piece of wood. The argument had started when he questioned her about who was the father of her child, she said. "He just kept saying 'no, it's not true'," she said. | She told the court about an incident of violence relatively early on in their relationship, when she claimed Philpott repeatedly hit her on the legs, back and arms with a piece of wood. The argument had started when he questioned her about who was the father of her child, she said. "He just kept saying 'no, it's not true'," she said. |
| She added that she had been "shocked and disappointed" after that incident and that "if we had a fallout he would bring it up again". | |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |