My son wanted love but his girlfriend bludgeoned him with kettle & then went drinking… I’m tortured by final moments

“I JUST want to find someone to care about and love.” Those are the heartbreaking words of Neil Jolly, 49, who was eager to find a girlfriend, but was then murdered in his quest for love. Sheila Morrison poses with a picture of her beloved son, Neil, who was murdered by his girlfriend Credit: Newsline Elizabeth Sweeney denied murdering Neil, claiming she felt she was in danger Credit: Newsline Media Neil was bludgeoned by his partner Elizabeth Sweeney, 36, who struck him 70 times with objects including a kettle. “His injuries were likened to those of a car crash victim or someone who’d fallen from a height – and it took Sweeney three days to call the police,” says his heartbroken mum Sheila Morrison, 77, from Aberdeen, Scotland. Sign up for the Fabulous newsletter Thank you! Sheila told how Neil popped around every Sunday for a full English brunch and a catch-up, something which haunts her now. “I’d always been close to Neil and his sister Lisa, but losing their dad when they were still teenagers had brought us even closer,” the OAP says. “Neil wasn’t one to talk about his feelings, so I was surprised when one day soon after, he opened up. He told me: ‘After work and the pub, I come home to an empty flat.’” Neil’s body was in his home when Sweeney was caught on this CCTV camera Credit: Sheila Morrison Sheila, centre, proudly poses with her daughter Lisa, right, and son Neil, left Credit: Sheila Morrison Sheila recalls reassuring her son he would meet someone – and a few months later her daughter said he had. But she was concerned because the woman he’d met was a convicted shoplifter. “I thought he deserved better,” Sheila remembers. “Then he stopped appearing for Sunday brunch and his text messages fizzled out.” But it was a month later in June 2023 that she spotted a news story online that police and emergency services had been called to an address in Neil’s street. Most read in Fabulous Elizabeth Sweeney murdered Neil and left his body in his home Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Neil was dating Elizabeth Sweeney when she attacked him Credit: Sheila Morrison Sheila continues: “I texted Lisa: ‘I hope Neil’s OK’.” But it was bad news. A few minutes later, police were at her door. “The officer said: ‘A body’s been found, and we think it’s Neil’s’,” says Sheila. “The police asked for a photo and when I showed them one, they confirmed it and my world fell apart. I didn’t know who’d want to kill him.” In time, police confirmed Sweeney had been arrested on suspicion of murder and that she had been in a relationship with Neil. Sheila says: “I remember thinking: ‘That must be his mystery woman’. I was reeling in shock. We were told Neil had died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck, but that was all we knew.” There was worse news to come. Sheila says: “My heart broke all over again when the undertaker gently warned me off seeing Neil because of the extent of his injuries. I wanted to know what on earth had this woman done to my boy?” Weeks after Neil died, his funeral took place. It was an incredibly difficult time for Sheila. “Drowning in grief, my mind played tricks on me, convincing me I’d spotted Neil in town,” she says. “The lack of detail from the police felt like a void and, grasping for answers, my family and I would try to fill it with theories and speculation.” Appearing at Aberdeen High Court in January 2025, Sweeney denied murder. Sheila, who attended court, learnt how Neil had met drug addict Sweeney after she’d fallen asleep on a bus and he’d given her cash. He’d told friends he was trying to help her get off drugs. But they’d started a relationship and, after he’d been spotted with bruises on his face, he’d confided in a pal that Sweeney was abusing him. On June 22, 2023, the abuse escalated when she repeatedly hit Neil on his head and body with a kettle. She struck him 70 times until he died, before she dragged his body into the shower to try to wash the blood off and covered him with a duvet. She also tried to clean the kettle and her shoes to destroy evidence. Sheila says: “I broke down, thinking how brutal the attack had been and how much my son had suffered in those final moments. My mind flashed back to how Neil had stopped coming round for Sunday brunch. He probably didn’t know how to explain his bruises. When they showed grisly police bodycam footage of Neil’s battered body in his blood-soaked flat, I had to leave the court.” After lodging a special defence of self-defence, Sweeney’s barrister told the court she’d woken on the day of the incident and formed a belief that she was in danger. “But I knew my boy would never hurt anyone,” says Sheila. Between June 22 and June 25, 2023, she was seen coming and going from his flat and was also caught on CCTV going on a 10-hour drinking session – proving she’d left his body alone. Sheila gripped her daughter’s hand as Sweeney was found guilty. She says: “I was so pleased the jury had rejected her lies and we’d got justice for Neil.” In March 2025, she was jailed for life to serve a minimum of 18 years. Judge Andrew Miller said: “You did nothing to get help for Neil or arrange for his body to be recovered. Instead, you appeared to have spent that weekend giving little thought to his fate.” Now Sheila still struggles to believe her boy is gone. “I still find myself waiting to hear that knock on the door on Sunday morning,” she says. “I wish with every fibre of my being that he’d never met that awful woman because if he hadn’t, he’d be alive today. I’m tortured by what he went through in his final moments too, trying to defend himself on the floor as blows rained down on him. “My kind and lonely son was trying to help a woman in need, but she took advantage of him. No one, man or woman, deserves to have their life taken in such a violent way. You read about it in the news and see it on TV but never expect it to happen to your family. I wish my son had confided in me too because maybe then I could’ve helped him. “There’s still a stigma around male victims of domestic abuse, but it needs to be talked about. Men need to walk away and tell someone before it’s too late.” Domestic abuse - how to get help DOMESTIC abuse can affect anyone - including men - and does not always involve physical violence. Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship: Emotional abuse – Including being belittled, blamed for the abuse – gaslighting – being isolated from family and friends, having no control over your finances, what you where and who you speak to Threats and intimidation – Some partners might threaten to kill or hurt you, destroy your belongings, stalk or harass you Physical abuse – This can range from slapping or hitting to being shoved over, choked or bitten. Sexual abuse – Being touched in a way you do not want to be touched, hurt during sex, pressured into sex or forced to have sex when you do not consent. If any of the above apply to you or a friend, you can call these numbers: The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247 for free at any time, day or night Men who are being abused can call Respect Men’s Advice Line on 0808 8010 327 or ManKind on 0182 3334 244 Those who identify as LGBT+ can ring Galop on 0800 999 5428 If you are in immediate danger or fear for your life, always ring 999 Remember, you are not alone. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic abuse over the course of their lifetime. Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse.