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Two men found guilty of murdering four children in arson attack Two men found guilty of murdering four children in arson attack
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A jury has convicted three people over a petrol bomb attack that killed four children as they slept in their home. Two men have been convicted of murdering four children after they threw petrol bombs through the window of a family home as part of an ongoing feud with the victims’ older brother.
Zak Bolland, 23, who launched the fatal attack after being involved in a petty feud with the victims’ 17-year-old brother Kyle Pearson, was convicted of four counts of murder at Manchester crown court. Zak Bolland, 23, and David Worrall, 25, were convicted of four counts of murder at Manchester crown court on Thursday. The jury heard how, at around 5am on 11 December, the men removed a fence panel from the garden of the mid-terrace house, smashed a kitchen window and threw in two lit petrol bombs.
David Worrall, 25, who was accused of removing a fence panel from the garden of Michelle Pearson’s home and smashing a kitchen window before two lit petrol bombs were tossed inside, at around 5am on 11 December last year, was also found guilty of four counts of murder. The fire spread to block the only exit from the first floor to the ground floor as the Pearson family slept upstairs. Demi Pearson, 15, her brother Brandon, eight, and sister Lacie, seven, who were sleeping in a front bedroom, died in the blaze. Their youngest sister, Lia, three, died in hospital two days later.
Bolland’s girlfriend, Courtney Brierley, 20, was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter after flames engulfed the three-bedroom mid-terrace house in Jackson Street, Walkden, Greater Manchester. The victims’ brother, Kyle Pearson, 17, and his friend escaped the fire. The children’s mother Michelle Pearson, 36, was seriously injured and has only recently recovered enough to be told of the death of her children.
Demi Pearson, 15, her brother Brandon, eight, and seven-year-old sister Lacie, who were sleeping in a front bedroom, all died in the blaze. Bolland’s girlfriend, Courtney Brierley, 20, was accused of encouraging and assisting the two men with their crimes. She was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter.
Their 36-year-old mother screamed “Not the kids! Not my kids!” before being overcome by the smoke, heat and flames. The jury was told of at least five occasions when Michelle Pearson called the police in the two weeks leading up to the attack, as an argument raged between her son Kyle and Bolland. The prosecution said “tit-for-tat attacks” resulted in her windows being smashed and a wheelie bin outside her house set on fire.
She was rescued, severely injured, along with her youngest daughter, Lia, aged three, who died in hospital two days later. The dispute started when Bolland accused her son of setting fire to his Ford Focus on 25 November. In a message sent to her phone, Bolland demanded £500 payment for the destruction of his car, writing: “Fire letter box I want my 500.”
Kyle Pearson, who had been feuding with Bolland, managed to escape along with a friend, Bobby Harris, who was also staying at the house. Opening the case for the prosecution, Paul Reid QC said after receiving a threat from Bolland on 26 November that he was going to “finish her house off”, Michelle Pearson drilled her letterbox shut “for fear that her house might be further damaged”. Two days later, following a referral by police, the fire service fitted a letterbox cover to prevent accelerants such as petrol from being poured through the door.
In a statement to police on 1 December, which was read to the jury, Pearson said she was scared of Bolland. “He’s smashed all of my windows. I know he’s capable of hurting me and damaging my property,” she said. Pearson said she wanted her housing association, City West, to allow her to move house and she asked police for a restraining order against Bolland.
An investigation of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) had been suspended pending the outcome of the trial.
In court, Courtney Brierley portrayed herself as a victim of domestic violence and claimed she was ignorant of her boyfriend’s plans to firebomb the Pearson household. Worrall also told the jury he knew nothing of a plan to set fire to the house, claiming instead that he thought the pair were going to set fire to the bins.
The jury was told Zak Bolland had a history of violence against women and an apparent fixation with fire. He had known Michelle Pearson since he was six, had been in her home and knew her children. After his arrest he wrote to Brierley five times from prison, telling her that he loved her and asking her to back up his claim that he thought the house was empty. She did not reply.
The trio will be sentenced later on Thursday.The trio will be sentenced later on Thursday.
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