Arson attack kills three children
POLICE were quizzing two murder suspects last night after three children died in a blaze and a threeyear-old girl was fighting for life.
Police fear the house inferno in Worsley, Greater Manchester, was started by an arsonist pouring fuel through the family’s letterbox.
Demi Pearson, 14, died at the scene and her eight-year-old brother Brandon and seven-yearold sister Lacie died later.
Greater Manchester Police revealed three-year-old Lia was also lying seriously injured in hospital after the fire yesterday at 5am.
The children’s mother, Michelle Pearson, 35, was last night still sedated in intensive care from her injuries and unaware of her loss.
The father of the children was not in the house at the time but has been notified about the deaths. Late last night police arrested a man, 23, and a woman, 20, on suspicion of multiple murder. They are both in custody for questioning.
Police hunting a motive said they were keeping an “open mind” as to whether it was gang-related.
The house was recently “target hardened” with a security device on the letterbox as officers confirmed they had “very recent contact” with the family before the disaster. And at 2am yesterday fire crews were called to the house to deal with a wheelie bin fire.
Emergency services were then called to the house for the third time in 48 hours as fire crews dealt with the deadly blaze. The children’s brother Kyle, 16, and a friend escaped the terraced property.
Kyle said: “I fell asleep and the next thing I knew was I could hear my mum screaming, ‘Fire!’.
“There was lots of smoke so I climbed out of an upstairs window.
“I’ve gone to get back in but a cloud of smoke hit me in the face.
“I tried to break the front door down and smashed a window but I couldn’t get in because of the flames and smoke. I can’t get my head around it. It’s disgraceful.”
He said of his siblings: “Demi was a top girl, very funny. Brandon was very clever and doing well at school. He was brainy. He loved playing computer games and he was looking forward to Christmas.”
Of little Lacie, he said: “She was the same, clever.”