Walkden house fire: Two men and woman jailed for 98 years over petrol bombing that killed four children

Children aged between three and 15 killed as they slept after police called by fearful mother five times

Two men and a woman have been jailed for a minimum of 98 years for killing four children by petrol bombing their family home over a petty feud.

The young victims were sleeping in the house in Walkden, Salford, when the attackers smashed a kitchen window and threw the missiles inside.

One of the bottles exploded on a staircase trapping the children upstairs as the flames spread in seconds.

Seven-year-old Lacie Pearson, her brother Brandon, eight, and older sister 15-year-old Demi were killed in the blaze on 11 December.

Their sister, three-year-old Lia, was rescued but died in hospital three days later, while mother Michelle Pearson, 36, was severely injured.

Zak Bolland, 23, launched the attack with 26-year-old David Worrall over a petty feud with the victims’ 17-year-old brother Kyle, who escaped the fire with a friend.

CCTV footage showed both men outside the home seconds before showing two flashes from the petrol bombs.

The pair denied murder and a defence barrister told Manchester Crown Court they were “too stupid to see the likely consequences” of throwing petrol bombs at the house.

But after more than three days of deliberations, a jury convicted them both of murder.

Forensic officers at the scene of the house fire on Jackson Street in Worsley, Greater Manchester (PA)

They also convicted Bolland’s 20-year-old girlfriend, Courtney Brierley, for manslaughter for helping to make the petrol bombs and driving with them to the attack.

Bolland was ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years in four life sentences and Worrall was handed a minimum tariff of 37 years. Brierley was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment.

​Worrall and Brierley broke down in tears as the verdicts were read out in court, while Bolland blinked and looked down to the floor.

The court heard Bolland and Kyle had been friends until the murderer’s Ford Focus was set on fire a fortnight before the attack, an incident he blamed on the teenager.

Bolland demanded £500 and sent harassing text messages, before both sides launched attacks, breaking windows at each other’s homes. Bolland then threatened to firebomb the Pearsons’ house, the court heard.

Ms Pearson called police on 26 November over the threat and the fire service fitted a letter box cover to their property.

She stated her willingness to give evidence in court but an “apparent misunderstanding” meant officers took no action against Bolland and he returned to the Pearsons’ home days later to taunt them.

Ms Pearson called police again and asked for a restraining order, but two days before her children were killed her bin was set on fire and the word “grass” was spray painted on the house.

Zak Bolland, 23, was convicted of murdering four children after petrol bombing their home with an accomplice (Greater Manchester Police)

Four hours before the fire, Bolland and Worrall attacked the property again, the court was told, before Bolland shouted: “Watch, all your family’s getting it, they’re all gonna die.”

The court heard the pair armed themselves with an axe and made a friend drive them to buy petrol from a nearby garage, pouring it into empty alcohol bottles and stuffing them with tissue.

At the same time, police visited Ms Pearson to take a statement, with an officer checking on the sleeping children, but they left and the arson attack was launched shortly before 5am.

The fire spread so quickly that smoke alarms were melted before they could sound, leaving the family with no chance of escape.

The court heard Ms Pearson was heard screaming “not my kids” and managed to dial 999 before being overcome by heat and smoke that left her in a temporary coma.

Detective Chief Inspector Lewis Hughes said she remained in hospital and “will be for some time to come”.

“This is one of the most heartbreaking cases I have ever dealt with,” he added. “I am glad that the sentences these three have received today reflect their atrocious acts, but nothing can change what has happened and nothing can bring back the children.

“Understandably the children’s family will still have questions which we will continue to try and answer.”

Ms Pearson had called police on at least five occasions in just two weeks, each time naming Bolland – who lived just 300 yards away – as a threat.

The mother saw at least six different officers who took statements and filled in risk referral forms, while the fire service carried out two “safe and well” visits. The family social worker was informed and Ms Pearson had asked to be moved to another house.

A serious case review is being conducted by Salford City Council, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct is probing Greater Manchester Police’s handling of the case.

Bolland, who had been drinking and snorting cocaine on the night of the attack, was already well known to police for a history of violence against women and threats to “burn” other enemies.

The unemployed killer was known for stalking around Walkden with his pit bull-type dog, often carrying a large machete, and had two convictions of battery against women.

His girlfriend, who also has a string of convictions for threatening behaviour, street robbery and battery, told the court he would beat her, lock her in their bedroom, broke her phone and deleted her social media accounts.

Bolland tried to use Brierley as an alibi after his arrest, writing to her from prison to declare his love and ask her to back up his claim that he thought the house was empty. She did not reply.

Worrall did not know the Pearson family and claimed he only allowed himself to be “dragged along” with the attack because he thought they were only going to set fire to bins.

Bolland was also convicted of three counts of attempted murder, and Worrall was convicted of three counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

The children’s grandmother, Sandra Lever, described the victims as “lovely, quiet children” who already had plans for their adult lives.

Demi wanted to study at sixth-form college, while Brandon liked architecture and dreamed of building a house for his mum.

“Lacie was always dancing, Lia was still a baby, she just used to copy Lacie,” Ms Lever said.

“I don’t know who to blame really. I’d say all of them – the police, social services, the council – because they were all involved, they all knew about it and they all done nothing about it.”

Additional reporting by PA