- Juliet Adcock ended a relationship with her obsessive ex-partner Mark Chilman, then began seeing Neil Parkinson, a kind and respectful man
- Soon after, Neil’s burned-out car was found with his body inside
- Mark Chilman was convicted of murdering Neil
I love you forever, the message on the bathroom mirror read.
It should have been romantic. But the truth was, Juliet Adcock had had enough. Her partner Mark Chilman’s love was so over the top it was stifling.
Divorced mum-of-three Juliet had met Mark when he was working as a handyman on her farm. Mark showered her with affection and Juliet’s friends commented on how much he cherished her.
Good around the farm and kind to the kids, it seemed only natural that Mark would move into the family home.
As the years passed though, Mark became increasingly possessive of her. So in June 2020, when Juliet broke things off with Mark, he was devastated.
‘Juliet would return home to find things vanished.’
In the weeks that followed, Mark begged her to take him back, constantly making excuses to pop over. Juliet would return home to find books had vanished, along with money, and even clothes.
Unnervingly he left her things, including a strange commemorative plaque for a dead dog.
One day Juliet was horrified to discover a noose on her property that he’d placed there.
Mark just didn’t seem to be able to take no for an answer.
But when Juliet met Neil Parkinson, 66, he seemed like a breath of fresh air.
Neil was so different from Mark – a true gentleman. Kind and respectful, a father and a grandfather, he cared for his 94-year-old mother who had dementia.
One night that December, Neil went to visit his son Chris, daughter-in-law Carol, and his two lovely granddaughters.
Afterwards, he and Juliet shared dinner at her farm. They were looking forward to a spa day together the next day.
But after he left for the night, Juliet received a message from a strange number, claiming to be Neil. I lead a double life. I use and abuse women, the text read, as the sender explained he got a buzz taking women away from their partners due to his sex addiction.
It seemed as though he was saying goodbye.
Noting the poor spelling and grammar, Juliet knew it wasn’t from Neil.
But it did remind her of someone she knew only too well… Mark.
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Shortly afterwards, neighbours spotted a car in flames in the road, and called the police.
‘His body was found inside.’
First responders hurried to extinguish the flames, discovering the car belonged to Neil. Tragically, his body was found inside.
As Juliet reeled, devastated, she wondered could Neil really have set fire to himself after the shocking confession?
He didn’t seem unhappy at dinner. And if he wanted to take his own life, would he have made plans with her for the following day?
Post-mortem examinations found evidence of a depressed fracture to the base of Neil’s skull. It was clear ‘substantial force’ had been used and that the object had a straight edge, similar to a hammer’s.
Forensics experts also found Neil’s blood, along with a broken pot plant, Neil’s keyring and a discarded combination lock at the scene, indicating a struggle.
When Mark was arrested later that month, he told police his love rival had told him that he wanted to kill himself.
But police didn’t buy it.
In August 2021, Mark Chilman appeared in Worcester Crown Court, UK, charged with murder.
During his trial the court heard that, obsessed and unable to accept his relationship with Juliet was over, he had placed a tracking device on her car.
Chillingly, he’d bought the same perfume she used and sprayed it on clothes he’d stolen from her house, which included two pairs of her underwear. He slept with the garments under his pillow and cuddled them every night.
The jury were told that on the night of the attack, Chilman had lain in wait for unsuspecting Neil to leave Juliet’s home. When he got out to lock the gate, Chilman had ambushed him, bludgeoning Neil so hard with a weapon – that was never located – it fractured the base of the victim’s skull.
Chilman then drove Neil’s unconscious body to a nearby road and poured around 40 litres of petrol over him before igniting him in the car.
‘He’d deliberately staged it.’
He’d deliberately staged it to look like Neil had taken his life.
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Chilman was shown to have lied to police, saying Neil asked him to dispose of multiple phones, which had actually been bought by Chilman. He’d lied further saying Neil had planned to set fire to his own car as insurance fraud.
The depths of Chilman’s obsession for Juliet were laid bare in his police interview in which he said he saw Juliet as his ‘property’.
Ahead of sentencing, Neil’s son Chris read his victim impact statement, describing his dad as a happy family man.
‘I’ve lost my father and my best friend. No-one will replace that, ever… Our light in our life has gone off and will shine no more.’
Judge James Burbidge QC admonished Chilman for the web of lies he’d spun throughout the ordeal. He acknowledged the death of Chilman’s father some years before had hit him hard and the loss of his relationship sent his world ‘crashing down’.
But he said Chilman’s love and affection became ‘misplaced’ and he ‘could not bear for her to be happy with anyone else’.
‘The jury found Chilman guilty of murder.’
The jury found Mark Chilman, 52, guilty of murder. He was sentenced to life with a minimum of 22 years.
In a statement Neil’s grieving family said, ‘Neil was a loving, caring, happy person who enjoyed life to the full. His infectious personality will be missed by all of his family and friends.’
