My Mother, the Satanic Killer - Cult Leader's Daughter, Kelly Higgins Speaks Out

Interview Overview

In an interview with presenter James English, Kelly Higgins discusses her childhood with her mother, Bernadette McNeilly, who was convicted in connection with the killing of 16-year-old Suzanne Capper. Higgins says she did not learn the full extent of her mother’s involvement until she was 22.

Childhood Abuse and Suzanne Capper

Higgins recalls being physically abused and neglected, alongside her brother James, by their mother and other adults in the household. She says the children were sometimes tied up, beaten, deprived of food, and exposed to sexual activity and abuse.

She remembers Suzanne as someone who comforted and fed the children. Higgins believes Suzanne returned to the house despite the danger because she was trying to protect them.

Higgins describes the group’s treatment of Suzanne as prolonged torture, culminating in her being set alight. She says she and James heard Suzanne’s distress and were made to clean the room where she had been held. She also recalls police arriving and arresting people in the household.

Claims that the group formed a satanic cult remain uncertain. Higgins says she has heard that symbols were found on the walls but does not claim to know the full story.

Contact with Her Mother and Care Experiences

As a child, Higgins was required to visit her imprisoned mother several times a year, despite being frightened of her. She describes continued manipulation during visits and phone calls, and says her mother never apologized.

After the arrests, Higgins says authorities failed to properly hear the children’s accounts or protect them. She and her siblings later lived with their father, whom she describes as struggling with addiction and sometimes abusing them, before entering foster care.

Higgins argues that the system gave too much weight to parental rights and too little to children’s safety and wishes.

Lasting Effects and Healing

Higgins describes lasting effects from her childhood, including difficulty trusting people, grief over the mother she wished she had, and serious mental-health struggles, including suicide attempts. She says therapy and other healing practices have helped her.

Meeting Suzanne’s brother, Steven Capper, brought Higgins a sense of comfort and relief.

Advocacy and Message to Survivors

Higgins says she is speaking publicly to give a voice to children who have experienced abuse. She supports a proposed “Kelly’s Law” to restrict parental rights when a parent has been proven to have physically abused their child. She also wants foster carers to have more authority to protect children from unwanted contact with abusive parents.

She urges survivors to seek support and speak about what happened, while stressing that childhood abuse is never the child’s fault. James English expresses strong support for Higgins and condemns the perpetrators.

Presenters and Contributors

• James English — Presenter and interviewer
• Kelly Higgins — Guest and interview contributor