A woman’s been jailed for killing her partner after beating and kicking him as he lay terminally ill – and trying to “gouge his eyes out”. Steven Cox died aged 63, in Liverpool, following an assault at the hands of his girlfriend of 37 years and carer Gillian Shaw, 62, last New Year’s Eve.
At Liverpool Crown Court she was jailed for five years for manslaughter after a judge heard she told police at the terrible scene she had “tried to gouge his eyes out” and: “You should just put me away now”. The court heard she dreamt Cox “was going to go back to his ex-wife”, having developed the paranoid belief he “loved cigarettes more than her”.
Judge Denis Watson KC told him: “You and Steven Cox had lived together in the same home for many years. You had two children together, and Mr Cox also had two children from a previous relationship. The relationship was generally a happy one, but, over the last six years or so, various stresses and strains became apparent.
“Your mental health had deteriorated. You seem to have become depressed, and, on several occasions, you were subject to Mental Health Act assessments and admitted to the Broad Oak unit for about three months in late 2021.
“Steven Cox’s physical health had deteriorated as well. In the autumn of 2024, he was told that his condition had deteriorated, such that his life expectancy was something in the order of 12 months. I have no doubt that was extremely distressing for both of you.
“I cannot ignore there are in existence crime reports of assaults by you, between September 2019 and December 2024.
There had even been a callout a day or two beforehand. In previous episodes, Steven Cox had never wished to make a formal complaint to the police.
“You were irritated with him at various points of that day. You believed he was either smirking at you or had hidden your bank card, and that he wanted to return to his ex-wife or that he loved cigarettes more than you. There is no reason to believe that any of these things were true.”
The judge told her how she “slapped him, punched him, kneed him or kicked him, which, at some point, caused him to fall to the ground” He added: “You admitted scratching his face or gouging his eyes with your fingers.
“On the arrival of the emergency services, you were to make significant admissions as to what had gone on. By 4 o’clock in the morning the following day, he was unresponsive and died shortly afterwards.
“Although he had serious and significant pre-existing medical conditions, blunt force trauma inflicted by you was, without doubt, a contributory factor to his death.”
Prosecutor Gordon Cole KC explained how Shaw herself admitted she had “hit her partner and tried to gouge his eyes out”.
Prior to his passing, Mr Cox told police Shaw had “hit him two or three times to the face, kicked him once to the chest and attempted to gouge his eyes out”.
Having been taken to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital by ambulance, Mr Cox was found to have sustained three fractured ribs, as well as “clear facial injuries”, and was suffering from breathing difficulties.
While he told medics that his relationship with Shaw was “good”, he was also said to have been “concerned for her mental health”.
He said they began arguing in the living room at around midday before she stood on his foot, struck him to the head and pulled him to the floor.
The attack was then said to have continued as he lay on the ground, where she “dug her nails into his face” and kicked him to the chest.
Mr Cox, who suffered from “very significant” medical conditions including COPD, thereafter became unresponsive in the early hours, being pronounced dead at 4.31am.
A pathologist gave a cause of death of severe pulmonary emphysema and heart disease with blunt force chest injuries.
Anne Whyte KC, defending, told the court: “It is quite clear from the facts and the history given by her own children that this woman struggled to cope with the terminal diagnosis of her partner.
“Ms Shaw had, in fact, intended to take her own life when Mr Cox died, and continued to feel suicidal until relatively recently. She was the primary carer for Mr Cox. It is quite clear from the evidence of her children that she had become socially isolated and she was neglecting herself.
“She accepts standing on Mr Cox’s toe. She accepts scratching at his eyes and striking him in some way to the head. Her memory about kicking has been inconsistent at times.”
“That derangement of thought, that her partner was having an affair, was so off the scale in terms of paranoia it is pretty clear she was ill.”
Shaw pleaded guilty to manslaughter during a previous hearing, with a charge of murder having been dropped by the prosecution.
She showed no reaction as she was jailed for five years before wiping her nose with a tissue. Shaw then waved to family members in the public gallery as she was led to the cells.
Det Insp Jay Halpin, from Merseyside Police’s Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) Unit, said: “This is a tragic case in which Shaw admitted assaulting her partner Steven multiple times on New Year’s Eve, causing serious injuries which sadly proved fatal.
“Although Steven had existing medical conditions, his life was violently and prematurely taken by his long-term partner, and she will now face a significant time in jail.
“This was, at its heart, a complex case involving long-term partners and I would like to thank the investigation team and CPS for the care and compassion they have shown throughout.
“Domestic abuse can come in many forms, and it is absolutely vital that you come forward if you are a victim, or if you suspect someone you know might be suffering.”
Senior Crown Prosecutor Edward Cain, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “Gillian Shaw’s attack caused serious injuries to Mr Cox – three fractured ribs, facial injuries and breathing problems. She admitted the attack to police.
“This is an incredibly sad case and the Crown Prosecution Service offers its condolences to the all the family members and friends of Steven Cox.”