We face Christmas without my mum ...I’ll never be able to forgive myself
Mum had always been my rock. Suddenly she was gone
“We miss her so much. I can never forgive Nigel for taking her from us in the most evil way – and I will never, ever be able to forgive myself.”
Adele is trying to put on a brave face for her children Eli, six and Amy, two, but is now dreading the festive season.
Speaking for the first time since an inquest hearing, she says: “Mum always loved Christmas. She loved watching all her grandchildren open their presents and would be as excited as them. It was one of her favourite times of the year. She would spoil the kids rotten – for her it was all about the children.
“This year will feel so empty without her. It just won’t feel the same.
“There will be a very empty seat around the table.”
Tracy, who was 51, had started dating “caring and kind” McGrath three years ago after meeting at their local social club in Rotherham, South Yorks.
Adele, who lives in Leeds, recalls: “Nigel clearly adored Mum and seemed very keen to be part of the family, so I couldn’t help but warm to him.
“And most importantly Mum was happy. She’d had a hard life.
“My little sister was run over when she was just three and that eventually tore her and Dad apart, so it was good to see her find some happiness again.”
But in the summer of 2015, Tracy confided to Adele that McGrath had cheated on her with a local woman and they separated.
Adele says: “She really loved Nigel and felt her life had once again fallen apart. She sobbed for hours on the phone, breaking her heart.”
Two weeks later, Tracy had taken him back after he begged for forgiveness.
Adele did not approve but accepted it, taking the view that Tracy was old enough to make her own decisions. Last December, McGrath was offered a job as a handyman working for a couple in Machynlleth, Mid Wales, and decided to move to a flat incorporated into their farmhouse.
Tracy moved there with him – with the blessing of Adele and her brothers Michael, 33, and Garry, 24.
Adele says: “Mum saw it as a fresh start. They seemed to settle well. They were living on the top floor of their employer’s farmhouse. We spoke on the phone most days and she seemed really happy. She was making lots of new friends and loved her new home.”
But just three months later, Tracy and McGrath split again. Adele says: “Mum rang and said Nigel had become increasingly possessive. He quizzed her constantly about where she was
going and who she was seeing. He had even accused her of having an affair. Mum was livid. After everything she had given up for him and forgiven him for cheating on her, it was just one step too much.
“She said she couldn’t cope with the rows any more. The couple who she worked for had asked Nigel to leave but had agreed Mum could stay on as she worked in the local care home.”
Tracy felt bad for McGrath and allowed him to stay in the flat – in separate beds – while he got back on his feet.
But when Adele visited a few weeks later with her kids the atmosphere was very tense. McGrath was drinking a lot and constantly in a bad mood.
Adele says: “Mum just ignored him and just wanted to enjoy the time we had together. We took the children on long walks and to the beach. It was perfect.”
The night before Adele was due to go back home she overheard McGrath making the death threat as he talked