Walkden Arson Inquest: Four Children Were 'Petrified' Before Fatal Petrol Bomb Attack, Hearing Told

An inquest has heard that four children who died in a petrol bomb attack at their Greater Manchester home had been left "petrified" by a sustained campaign of vandalism and intimidation in the weeks before the fatal blaze. Demi Pearson, 15, her eight-year-old brother Brandon, and sisters Lacie, seven, and three-year-old Lia were killed when their home on Jackson Street in Walkden was firebombed in December 2017. Their mother, Michelle Pearson, then 37, suffered catastrophic burns in the same attack and died 20 months later, in August 2019.

The hearing at Bolton Coroner's Court, which is expected to run for eight weeks, was told that Michelle had repeatedly told police she did not feel safe in the property, which had been defaced with graffiti and had its windows smashed. Relatives described a household living under siege in the period leading up to the attack, with the children suffering nightmares and one of Michelle's sons, Kyle, who managed to escape the flames, telling the inquest in a statement that "the police didn't do anything."

Zak Bolland and David Worrall were both jailed for life in 2018 for murdering the four children, and in 2021 they were also convicted of Michelle's murder. Bolland received a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years, while Worrall was handed life with a minimum of 37 years. Bolland's girlfriend at the time, Courtney Brierley, then 20, was jailed for 21 years after being convicted of four counts of manslaughter.

Jurors and the coroner were told that two weeks before the fatal attack, Bolland had used a hammer to smash the windows of the family home, leaving broken glass scattered throughout the property. A neighbour, Elaine Williams, gave evidence that she had witnessed Bolland attacking the windows in the weeks before the firebombing. Williams described Michelle as a woman at her wits' end, saying: "She wanted to move from there. She wanted out. She was fed up of all the trouble. Her nerves were shot."

In a statement read to the court, Michelle's mother, Sandra Lever, said her daughter had been desperate to be rehoused and had been left "beyond distressed" by the situation. Lever told the inquest that the children were terrified of living on Jackson Street, that Michelle had stopped eating, and that Brandon had told his mother he no longer wanted to live in the house. According to the family, Michelle had approached her social landlord to report that she was in danger, only to be told she did not meet the criteria for emergency housing. The hearing was told she felt "fobbed off" by the response she received.

Relatives of the family said they believed the deaths had been "wholly preventable" and pointed to what they described as missed opportunities to protect Michelle and her children. The inquest is expected to examine whether there was any predictable threat to life and what could or should have been done to prevent the tragedy — questions that cut to the heart of how social housing providers, police and other agencies respond to reports of escalating anti-social behaviour and domestic intimidation.

Senior coroner Timothy Brennand, for Greater Manchester West, opened proceedings by cautioning that the inquest was not a trial and not "an exercise in blame and shame." He said the purpose was to give the Pearson family a voice, while acknowledging that their concerns "coalesce into two words of rhetoric – 'What if?'" Brennand read out remarks made by Justice Davis, the judge who sentenced the killers, who had determined that a series of tit-for-tat attacks formed part of a feud in the run-up to the fatal firebombing. The judge noted that what lay behind the dispute had never been made public.

Anna Morris KC, representing the Pearson family, painted a portrait of Michelle as a devoted mother who read bedtime stories to her children every night. Morris told the court that Michelle had sustained massive injuries in the blaze and remained in hospital for a long period, during part of which she was unaware that her children had died. Her mental health deteriorated sharply once she learned the truth. Michelle had suffered burns to 68% of her body and, according to her family, "clung on to life" until she died on 25 August 2019, roughly 20 months after the attack. When she died in hospital, relatives placed a crucifix in her hand and a photograph of her children beside her.

Family statements paid tribute to each of the four children. Demi was remembered as a happy, smiley child who was her mother's best friend. Brandon was described as a mummy's boy with an infectious smile, while Lacie was characterised as a little diva. Lia was recalled as a chatterbox with a cheeky laugh. "All of the children had such bright futures ahead of them," the family said, adding that they cherished the short time they had shared with them.

The family's statement also spoke of their sense of loss and of faith, saying of Michelle: "We know she's back with her children and out of pain." The inquest continues, with evidence expected to explore in detail the sequence of events, the contacts the family had with authorities, and the failures the family allege allowed the situation to escalate to the point of mass murder. The proceedings are scheduled to last up to eight weeks.

For the Walkden community, the case remains one of the most harrowing in recent memory, and the inquest represents the first occasion on which much of the evidence surrounding the family's repeated cries for help has been aired in public. The outcome is likely to renew scrutiny of how emergency housing decisions are made and how quickly agencies act when families report that they fear for their lives inside their own homes.