Inquest Hears Four Children Were 'Petrified' Before Fatal Walkden Petrol Bomb Attack

Four children who died in a petrol bomb attack at their Greater Manchester home had been left terrified by a sustained campaign of vandalism and intimidation in the weeks leading up to the fire, an inquest has been told. Demi Pearson, 15, her brother Brandon, eight, and her sisters Lacie, seven, and Lia, three, all perished at the family home on Jackson Street in Walkden in December 2017. Their mother, Michelle Pearson, then 37, suffered catastrophic burns in the same blaze and died 20 months later, in August 2019.

The hearing at Bolton Coroner's Court, which is expected to run for eight weeks, opened with testimony describing how the family had been living in fear long before the fatal attack. According to evidence presented to the court, Michelle had repeatedly told police she no longer felt safe inside the property, which had been defaced with graffiti and had its windows broken on multiple occasions. Relatives described a household under siege, with the children suffering nightmares and one of them telling his mother he did not want to live there any longer.

The inquest heard that Zak Bolland and David Worrall were jailed for life in 2018 for murdering the four children. In 2021, the pair were also convicted of Michelle Pearson'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.

The court was told that two weeks before the fatal firebombing, Bolland used a hammer to smash windows at the Jackson Street house, leaving shattered glass throughout the property. A neighbour, Elaine Williams, gave evidence that she witnessed the attack. She described how Michelle was desperate to leave the address, saying the mother wanted out and was fed up with the trouble. Williams told the hearing that Michelle's nerves were shot and that she was at her wits' end with worry.

Statements from relatives painted a picture of a woman who felt abandoned by the authorities meant to protect her. Michelle's mother, Sandra Lever, told the inquest that her daughter had been beyond distressed, had stopped eating, and had pleaded with her social landlord to be rehoused. According to Lever, Michelle visited the landlord to say she was in danger but was told she did not meet the criteria for emergency accommodation. The family believed she had been fobbed off rather than helped.

The inquest also heard that Michelle contacted police on five separate occasions, a detail that relatives said demonstrated the seriousness of her situation. Her son Kyle, who managed to escape the burning house, told the court in a statement that the police had done nothing. The family's legal representative, Anna Morris KC, said the deaths were wholly preventable and pointed to missed opportunities to protect the household. Morris described Michelle as a devoted mother who read bedtime stories to her children every night.

Timothy Brennand, senior coroner for Greater Manchester West, opened proceedings by stressing that the inquest was not a trial and not an exercise in blame and shame. He said the purpose was to examine whether there had been any predictable threat to life and to establish what could or should have been done to prevent the deaths. Brennand acknowledged that the family's many questions ultimately coalesced into two words of rhetoric: what if. He added that the hearing would aim to give the Pearson family a voice.

The coroner read out remarks made by Justice Davis, the judge who sentenced the killers. According to Brennand, the judge had found that a series of tit-for-tat attacks formed part of a feud in the run-up to the fatal firebombing, although the underlying cause of that dispute was never made public. The inquest is expected to explore the background to the feud and the extent to which authorities were aware of the escalating danger.

Evidence about Michelle's final months was among the most harrowing presented to the court. She sustained burns to 68 per cent of her body and clung to life until she died on 25 August 2019, roughly 20 months after the attack. For part of her long hospital stay, she was unaware that her children had died. Her mental health deteriorated sharply once she was told. When she died, her family placed a crucifix in her hand and a photograph of her children with her, saying they took comfort from the belief that she was back with them and out of pain.

Tributes read to the inquest remembered each of the children as individuals with distinct personalities and promising futures. Demi was described as a happy, smiley child who was best friends with her mother. Brandon was remembered for an infectious smile and as a mummy's boy, while Lacie was characterised as a little diva. Lia was called a chatterbox with a cheeky laugh. The family said all four had bright futures ahead of them and that they cherished the short time they had shared with them.

The inquest continues, with several weeks of evidence still to be heard. It is expected to scrutinise the responses of police, housing officials and other agencies in the period before the attack, and to consider whether earlier intervention could have saved the family. For the relatives, the proceedings represent a long-sought opportunity to establish a full account of what happened and to press for answers about why the warnings went unheeded. The court has yet to hear from all the witnesses, and the coroner will ultimately deliver findings on the circumstances of the deaths.