Mum who murdered disabled daughter branded “evil”

Sep 24 2008 By Lois York

THE husband of convicted murderer Joanne Hill has described what she did to their disabled daughter as “evil”.

Simon Hill was speaking at a press conference at the Holiday Inn in Chester shortly after Joanne Hill, 32, was found guilty of murdering their daughter Naomi, four, who had mild cerebral palsy, by drowning her in the bath in November last year.

Mr Hill told the press: “Joanne is a non-swimmer with a fear of water. To be held under water is her biggest fear. What she did to my princess was evil.”

Hill, 32, of Goya Close, Connah's Quay, was this afternoon sentenced to a minimum 15 years imprisonment at Chester Crown Court. The 300 days she has already spent on remand will be taken into account. The jury of four women and eight men retired for lunch at 12.50pm and returned a verdict at 1.20pm.

The Recorder of Chester Judge Elgan Edwards said the vulnerability of Naomi and the breach of trust between a mother and child were aggravating features in the case.

Sentencing Hill, he said: “You could not cope in my judgement with the child's disability such as it was. You had other pressures upon you, your disintegrating marriage, and you decided to kill your own daughter by drowning her.

“Having said that although there's an aggravating feature, equally you have had a sad history of mental problems and I take that into account as it would be inhuman not to.”

Although having been at Ty Llewellyn medium secure mental hospital since January, Hill, due to her conviction will now be taken to prison. But the judge said he hoped she would be transferred to a mental hospital soon.

He told a visibly shocked Hill: “This has been a very sad case, sad for you, sad for your family and for your husband's family and of course tragically for the child you killed.

“There can be no excuse for what you did and I am afraid you must now pay the penalty.”

After dismissing the jury, the judge said: “This has been a case where there are no winners, only losers. I offer my sincere condolences to the relatives of Naomi who have throughout this case behaved with complete dignity.”

At a press conference afterwards Mr Hill described Naomi as a child who “lived life to the full” and was “an inspiration”.

He said his daughter loved the beach, the garden, growing flowers, spending time with her grandparents and “everything pink”.

“There is not a minute goes by without me wishing she was still here. She was my constant companion, she was my best friend, she was my little princess”, he said.

“The fact that Naomi has been taken away from us at such a young age and in such a terrible way is something we will never come to terms with.”

Det Insp Simon Price, of the force major investigation team Cheshire Constabulary, praised Simon Hill and his relatives for their conduct throughout the trial.

He told a press conference: “The fact that her [Naomi's] life was ended so prematurely is in itself a matter of the greatest sadness, however, for this to have taken place at the hands of her mother makes it all the more difficult to comprehend.”

See this Friday's Chronicle for a full round-up of the trial.