Mum-of-three killed by her partner on first night of family holiday

A mum-of-three was killed after suffering a 'heavy blow' to the neck from her partner on the first night of a family holiday, a coroner has concluded.

Jillian Hughes, 57, travelled to the Isle of Man with relatives, including her granddaughter and then partner, on Friday, March 29, 2024, but the first night ended in tragedy, the Liverpool Echo reports. During an altercation outside the Palace Hotel on Central Promenade, Douglas, Ms Hughes was hit by her partner, John Meadows, 53, and later died in hospital.

An inquest into the death of the nan, held at the the Gerard Majella Courthouse in Liverpool today, heard how the family had been celebrating the Easter weekend with a trip away. They had been having drinks together in the city centre when an argument occurred between Ms Hughes, who was a mental health support worker, and another family member.

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The family had been walking along the promenade outside the Best Western hotel when an altercation took place. Ms Hughes sustained a single blow to the head and fell to the floor. Emergency services attended the scene where they found Ms Hughes on the ground.

She was transferred to Noble's Hospital in the Isle of Man, where resuscitation attempts were continued but she was pronounced dead at around 10.28pm. The inquest heard how during the incident Ms Hughes suffered a "heavy blow" to the left side of her neck, after being punched once, just before she became unresponsive and suffered a cardiac arrest.

Coroner André Rebello ruled Ms Hughes had died following an unlawful and dangerous act that caused death. He concluded she died from an unlawful killing following a fatal blow on March 29, 2024, which resulted in her death the same day.

Meadows, of Verney Crescent in Allerton, was charged with manslaughter and appeared in court in Isle of Man on October 11, where he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.

After her death, Ms Hughes's family paid tribute to her in a moving statement. They said: "Our Jill was one in a million. She was such a happy, sarcastic, hardworking and passionate person."

The statement added: "We want everyone to know that Jill was a well-respected mum of three to Chantelle, Sarah and Megan; also nan to Billy, Georgie and Maiya. Jill was a true diamond who thrived for life. She was liked and loved everywhere she went, her huge smile would light up a room.

"We as a family will never ever be able to come to terms with what has happened, we are all living a complete nightmare. This killing should never have taken place."