When Susan Philippart slipped as she followed her partner up the stairs from the hotel bar to their room and fell backwards, banging her head, her injuries were clearly so serious that staff immediately dialled 999.
The primary school teacher, 61, was duly rushed to intensive care, but sadly some ten days later Mrs Philippart died.
The notes taken by the paramedic who attended – which recorded that both the mother of four and her partner, Mansel Usher, had been drinking – then provided the basis for both the police and later a coroner to find that her death had been an accident worthy of no substantive further inquiry.
But there was one little loose end that Mr Usher hadn't volunteered to any of them: as well as her boyfriend, he was also… her parish priest.
And he had been introduced to the divorcee in that capacity, to provide counsel ahead of her proposed marriage to another man.
Father Mansel Usher managed to keep this rather compromising detail out of the public eye throughout the subsequent inquest but it did eventually come Primary school teacher Susan Philippart, 61, was killed by a freak accident falling down the stairs on the day of her mum's funeral, an inquest heard
Father Mansel Usher was Mrs Philippart's boyfriend as well as her parish priest.
The Philippart family want a fresh investigation and for Father Usher – who they say had promised he would quit the priesthood so he could marry their mother – to face further questioning.
Susan, a devout Catholic and church fundraiser, had been divorced from her husband since 1990, but wanted to have the marriage officially annulled so that she could finally marry her fiancé of 18 years, one Dai Pearson.
As part of that annulment process, she was told to have counselling sessions with Father Usher at local church Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Swansea, where he was the priest.
But instead of preparing her for marriage, Father Usher instead seduced her.
Soon Susan admitted to her family she had fallen in love with the younger priest, and said that he had declared his love for her too – and she wanted to marry him instead of her fiancé.
The pair then carried on a secret affair, meeting up regularly and staying in country hotels away from his parish in Wales, to avoid a local scandal, it's said.
It is also claimed that the Priest would say to his secret lover in intimate moments: 'If only the congregation knew what I was doing with you right now.'
Once the Church finally became aware of the case, Father Usher was found to have breached the Catholic Church's safeguarding standards by having the sexual relationship with a parishioner he was meant to be counselling.
It was also found that he had not been open about his status as a priest to the police and the coroner – and that he had benefited financially from the relationship, though it is still unclear how.
A leaked document from the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Minevia stated: 'Father Usher is alleged to have had a close to potentially romantic relationship contrary to 'Caring Standards for Others' [a church policy].
'Father Usher failed to understand or comply with the need for clear personal boundaries in the workplace.
'Father Usher received gifts and/or money contrary to 'Caring Standards for Others' pastoral standards and safe conduct in ministry.
'Father Usher behaved in a way that undermined the trust placed in him by virtue of his position.
'Father Usher failed to disclose that he was a priest to HM Coroner and police following the death of Susan Philippart.'
The Archdiocese of Cardiff-Minevia formally confirmed that Father Usher is no longer in active ministry and is not now connected to any Catholic Church.
A spokesman said: 'As there is an ongoing canonical review it would be inappropriate to make any comment on this case.'
Swansea Council also held a safeguarding hearing into the relationship between the priest and Mrs Philippart but refused to disclose any details.
The secret relationship only emerged when tragedy befell Susan in March 2020 – something which, in a curious twist, happened on the evening after she had attended her own mother's funeral.
The secret couple had booked into a hotel on The Mumbles, a popular strip of pubs, bars and restaurants just outside Swansea, famous for its nightlife.
Susan had been drinking wine at the wake before they returned to the hotel, the Norton, where they had further drinks in the bar until some time between 11.30pm and 11.45pm.
Susan was later described as having been 'very tired' that evening, after dealing with the 'stress and fatigue' of the funeral.
She went up the staircase in single file with Father Usher leading the way – only for her to fall.
Speaking at the inquest hearing at Swansea Guildhall, investigating officer PC Mike Jenkins said: 'It seems she lost her footing and fell backwards down the stairs but it was unwitnessed and there is no CCTV on the staircase.
'The fall was not deemed suspicious and police were not called to attend.'
Father Usher, a former carpenter, said he screamed for help after finding his lover motionless, lying on her back with her eyes staring at him blankly and blood coming from her mouth, nose and ears.
But he would tell the inquest that he could not remember the sequence of events 'with any precision'.
He said: 'Having gone up several steps, perhaps even reaching the first landing I turned to Sue asking if she was OK, only to see her lying at the bottom of the stairs.
'I do not remember hearing her cry out loudly or any sound of falling.
'I do, however, think I remember hearing a sound which could have prompted me to turn around to Sue. That sound could have been a moan or a heavy sigh.
'I do not know how many steps Sue had taken on the staircase.'
Father Usher later told Susan's family he believed she suffered some sort of blackout on the stairs while 'tired' and 'tipsy', they say.
Paramedic Kevin Holmes, who was first on the scene, told the inquest Susan's 'partner' – now revealed to have been a priest – was also under the influence of alcohol.
A verdict of accidental death was recorded by acting senior Swansea Coroner Colin Phillips, who described the events as 'tragic'.
But, now, six years later, Susan's daughter Rebecca Philippart is calling on police to reopen the case.
Rebecca, 43, said: 'I can't let this go until I know what happened that night.
'There are a lot of unanswered questions including information from the hotel that she may have been moved because blood was found elsewhere.
'The police never went to the scene, they took the word of a paramedic who thought it didn't look suspicious.'
She added: 'It [the staircase where she fell] is not that narrow, there is carpet, the lights were on – it's not a steep staircase where someone could topple to the bottom.
'There was no forensic examination of the scene, it was treated as an accident and Father Usher played the part of a worried partner until my mum passed away 10 days later.'
Rebecca, 43, claims that while her mother was in intensive care at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and the family were keeping a vigil, Father Usher had several times behaved in ways she found inappropriate.
Rebecca, also from Swansea, said that Father Usher had blurred the roles between being her partner and her priest during this period.
She said: 'He acted as if he was next-of-kin so that he was getting her health updates – and he told me and other family members that he intended to marry mum.'
She said at one point he had playfully slapped her unconscious mother on the thigh – and he had told them that in happier times he had nicknamed her his 'Botticelli' after the Renaissance painter who was famous for sensual nudes.
She said that this blurring of roles culminated just before her death: 'At the end he performed the last rites on her as a priest – and then added "goodbye darling".'
Rebecca said her mother had disclosed personal details about their sexual relationship saying the priest seemed to 'get a kick' out of living a double life – and that he would tell her: 'If only the congregation knew what I was doing with you right now,' when they were together in bed.
She added: 'Mum had strongly believed he shouldn't give up the priesthood for her and I know that was troubling her.'
Rebecca went on: 'I can remember mum saying that things didn't add up and that's how I feel about the way she died. I feel like I'm in limbo until I know for certain what happened that night.
'I feel that because there is a priest involved no one wants to look into this properly. I've been sent from pillar to post and no one really cares how my mum died.'
'Over the last six years I have asked the police three times to reopen the case and I have been to see the coroner twice.'
She hopes that they will finally look at the case again now, she said.
But a South Wales Police spokesman said: 'We can confirm that neither Ms Philippart's fall or death in 2020 were reported to South Wales Police and following a full coronial investigation later that year, a coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.
'Concerns regarding this verdict are a matter for the Coroner.'
The Coroner and Mr Usher have also been contacted.
