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West Malling house fire murder: Son-in-law guilty West Malling house fire murder: Son-in-law guilty
(about 2 hours later)
A man who killed his mother-in-law by deliberately setting fire to the family home has been found guilty of murder.A man who killed his mother-in-law by deliberately setting fire to the family home has been found guilty of murder.
Simon Childs, 52, started the blaze in West Malling, Kent, in November last year, in which 65-year-old Jackie Allen died and another person was injured. Simon Childs, 52, started the blaze in West Malling, Kent, which killed 65-year-old Jackie Allen and injured another person.
He was also found guilty of attempted murder, and he will be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday. He was also found guilty of attempted murder and will be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.
Childs' estranged wife was not at the house in Spitfire Road at the time of the fire on 17 November. His estranged wife was not at the house in Spitfire Road at the time of the fire on 17 November.
He was described in court as a "jealous and obsessive man with a history of erratic behaviour" after his marriage breakup. Childs, of Hurricane Road in West Malling, was described in court as a "jealous and obsessive man with a history of erratic behaviour" after his marriage breakup.
Childs, of Hurricane Road, West Malling, had denied murder and attempted murder. In a statement, Mrs Allen's family said: "Jackie would have given her last breath for us and she did that night.
"Our whole world was taken from under us."
On the day of the fire Childs had threatened to set alight a caravan belonging to a man he suspected of having a relationship with his former partner.
He was also heard making threats to "burn the house down" and was responsible for dozens of abusive messages and phone calls, demanding to know her whereabouts.
Kent Police said he broke into the property at about 21:00 GMT and took petrol from a shed to start the fire.
Emergency services arrived to find Mrs Allen inside and she was later pronounced deceased in hospital.
Another person in the property was found in the garden having jumped to safety from a first-floor bedroom.
Officers found Childs shortly afterwards at a nearby address and he was arrested.
Det Ch Insp Patrick Milford said Childs' actions were "deliberate and calculated".
He added: "Local residents bravely tried to rescue the occupants from the house, but the fire was just too intense."