Michelle Pearson, a mother of five whose windows were smashed in a 'tit-for-tat' feud, was not classed by police as an intimidated or vulnerable witness, an inquest has heard.
Michelle called police five times in the two weeks leading up to December 11 2017, when her home in Walkden was petrol-bombed by Zak Bolland and David Worrall, then aged 23 and 25. Three of her children – Demi, 15; Brandon, eight; and Lacie, seven – died at the scene. Lia, three, died from her injuries three days later, while Michelle died in hospital twenty months after the blaze.
Police response before the attack
The inquest at Bolton Coroners Court, expected to last eight weeks, is examining Michelle's contact with police and social services in the weeks before the fire to look for potential 'missed opportunities'.
On the morning of November 26 2017, then-probationary officer PC Annie Wharton and PC John Worthington were called to Michelle's home on Jackson Street but were delayed by a request for backup on nearby Blackleach Drive, where a disturbance involving 'eight to ten people' with pickaxes and baseball bats was reported. PC Wharton said she had not known that was Bolland's address but observed Courtney Brierley there.
Michelle told the officers she had seen Zak Bolland smashing the front windows of her home with a hammer before running off. PC Wharton described Michelle as 'willing' to attend court and discussed 'special measures' with her to 'settle her nerves' about giving evidence.
Threatening messages and missed opportunities
Later that evening, then-probationer PC Robert Webster attended the home with PC Gary Morton after Michelle received threatening text messages from Bolland, including 'you got my dough', 'you giving statements or what', 'you are a grass' and 'gonna petrol bomb your house tonight'.
Now-DC Webster said Michelle seemed 'fed-up' and 'frustrated', and was 'no longer willing' to attend court, feeling 'extremely anxious'. He did not attempt to arrest Bolland that night, citing an 'extremely busy' and short-staffed shift, and did not notify PC Worthington about the threats as 'he would have been in bed'.
The court heard that on a police form, Michelle was not marked as an intimidated or vulnerable victim. Coroner Timothy Brennand remarked: "This was as you sat with her in a boarded-up living room whose windows had been put through." The officer accepted in hindsight that she was vulnerable.
Aftermath and ongoing inquest
PC Gary Morton raised a referral to Michelle's social worker and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, feeling the risk was 'real' but 'not immediate'. Michelle met her social worker the next day and was visited by GMP's child protection unit on November 28.
The inquest previously heard that Bolland was interviewed on November 28, answered no comment, and was later released. He attended Michelle's home again on December 1 with Brierley, where they were 'laughing' and 'shouting they had been NFA'ed'. PC Webster attended again that day and agreed the threats to petrol bomb could amount to threats to kill.
Bolland and Worrall were jailed for life in May 2018 for the children's murders, and were later found guilty of Michelle's murder in 2021. Brierley was jailed for manslaughter. The crime report was closed on December 6th; the inquest has not yet heard who signed this off, except that it could only have been done by an officer of sergeant rank.
