Gran: ‘We feel pain of tragic fire family’
THE grandmother of four children murdered in the horrific Walkden arson attack has sent a heartfelt message of love and support to the family in Stafford grieving the loss of four youngsters in a house fire.
Riley Holt, eight, Keegan Unitt, six, Olly Unitt, three and Tilly Rose Unitt, four, lost their lives in the blaze on Tuesday.
A fifth child, named as two-year-old Jack, was taken to hospital after escaping from a first-floor window with Natalie Unitt, 24, the children’s mother and her partner, their dad Chris Moulton, 28.
Sandra Lever, grandmother of ‘Walkden angels’ Demi Pearson, 15, brother Brandon, eight and younger sisters Lacie, seven and three-year-old Lia, said she wanted to sent the family love and support.
Her grandchildren died when two petrol bombs were thrown through a window into their home on Jackson Street in Walkden, Salford, as they slept in December, 2017. Their mother Michelle Pearson, 36, was left in a coma after the attack and remains in hospital.
Mrs Lever told our sister paper The Mirror: “The Pearson family sends all our love and sympathy at this heartbreaking time.
“Four more beautiful angels have gained their wings. As a family we understand the pain as we lost our four Walkden angels in a house fire.”
A fundraising page set up for the family of the four children has since reached over £28,500 - with more than 1,800 people donating money.
Staffordshire Police said a 24-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man were arrested on Friday on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence. They remain in custody, the force added. In May last year, Zak Bolland, who launched the fatal attack in Walkden, was found guilty of four counts of murder by a jury at Manchester Crown Court. He was jailed for a minimum of 40 years.
David Worrall, who was also convicted of murdering the four children, was handed a life sentence, with a minimum 37-year term.
Bolland’s then girlfriend Courtney Brierley was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter and handed 21 years in a young offenders’ institution.