Michelle Pearson, 37, died in hospital clutching a photograph of four of her children who had been killed in a petrol bomb attack on their home almost two years previously, an inquest heard on October 5. Her family also wrapped a crucifix around her hand as she died following a 'lengthy and courageous' fight, 21 months after the deaths of her children.
"We know that she is back with her children," said a family statement read out at the inquest. The tragedy, which occurred in Walkden, Salford, in December 2017, is now the subject of an inquest hearing that began on Monday at Bolton Coroner's Court.
Family's plea to council
In a statement, Ms Pearson's family revealed that she had been 'pleading with' Salford Council to rehome her in the weeks leading up to the arson attack. They described her as being 'beyond stressed' by what was referred to as a 'tit-for-tat feud' that escalated and ultimately ended in tragedy.
Her children, the family said, were 'petrified' of living at the property on Jackson Street. Four members of the Pearson family — Demi, 14; Brandon, eight; Lacie, seven; and Lia, three — lost their lives after petrol bombs were hurled at the house in the early hours of December 11, 2017.
Attack and convictions
Their mother, Ms Pearson, survived the attack but died aged 37 almost two years later, having sustained severe burns and spent months in a coma. Zak Bolland and David Worrall, then aged 23 and 25, were imprisoned for life and ordered to serve minimum terms of 40 and 37 years respectively following their conviction for the murders of the children in May 2018.
Bolland's then girlfriend, Courtney Brierley, who had remained in a nearby car while the attack took place, was jailed for 21 years for manslaughter. Bolland and Worrall were also found guilty of Michelle's murder at a separate trial in 2021. Brierley admitted manslaughter and received an additional, concurrent, 12-year sentence.
Senior coroner Timothy Brennand, opening the inquest which is expected to last for eight weeks, read out the sentencing remarks of the trial judge, Mr Justice William Davis, to commence the inquest.
Feud and escalation
The inquest heard Mr Justice Davis spoke of a feud 'between some members of the Pearson family and Zac Bolland and Courtney Brierley'. "What lay behind the feud has never been made public," he said. The inquest heard of vehicles being damaged and Boland smashing windows of the Pearson home with a hammer. Boland was also said to have 'threatened to use fire' on the property.
Police and the fire service, who sealed up her letterbox, were involved, with Mr Justice Davies detailing a 'flurry of tit-for-tat attacks'. Ms Pearson went on to be labelled a 'grass', a word which was spray-painted on the walls of her home. A wheelie bin in the front garden was also set alight. Mr Justice Davies spoke of 'a series of relatively trivial incidents gradually increasing in seriousness which had no conceivable justification, but which could and should have gone no further' in his sentencing remarks.
Inquest aims and tributes
Having consumed alcohol and cocaine, Bolland and Worrall, carrying an axe and a machete, arrived at the Pearson family home in the early hours of the morning. The inquest heard they had constructed two petrol bombs - one from a large clear bottle and the other from a beer bottle. Worrall shattered a rear window and hurled one inside, which ignited 'but only to a limited extent'. Bolland's petrol bomb 'exploded with considerable force' and the resulting inferno engulfed the property.
"The defendants must have known that they had been responsible for setting on fire an occupied house yet they behaved as if nothing had happened," said the trial judge in her sentencing remarks. The fire, the inquest heard, was 'swift and deadly'. Coroner Mr Brennand confirmed that a homicide investigation was launched and convictions subsequently followed.
He stated that the inquest would seek to examine whether there was 'any predictable threat to life' and 'what could or should have been done that might have prevented these deaths'. Mr Brennand added that it would assess and scrutinise 'how state agencies worked together' to manage any risk following Ms Pearson's reports.
"The family are at the heart of this process," he said. "The intention is to give the family a voice". Family 'pen portraits' of the children were read out. Demi was described as a 'happy and smiley child with a heart of gold'. She was discovered near a bunk bed and died at the scene. Brandon was the 'brainbox' of the family who was said to have an 'amazing vocabulary'. "His favourite word was putrid," the family said. He was said to pick flowers from the park and loved the Beatles. Lacie loved to dance and was 'a YouTube star in the making', the family said, also paying tribute to Lia as having a 'cheeky laugh and a smile that would melt your heart'. Lia died two days later in hospital.
