House fire murder trial jury retires to consider verdict
TWO MEN ARE ACCUSED OF STARTING THE BLAZE THAT KILLED MICHELLE PEARSON
JURORS have retired to consider their verdicts in the trial of two men who are accused of murdering Michelle Pearson in a house fire which killed four of her children.
Zak Bolland, 26, and David Worrall, 28, both deny the murder of 37-year-old Ms Pearson, but admit manslaughter.
They are accused of throwing petrol bombs into the Pearson family home in Jackson Street, Walkden, in the early hours of December 11,
2017.
The fire killed 15-year-old Demi; eightyear-old Brandon; sevenyear-old Lacie; and Lia, three.
Jurors at Manchester
Crown Court have heard that Bolland and Worrall were both found guilty of their murders, at a trial in 2018.
Ms Pearson died 20 months after the fire after suffering serious injuries.
Prosecutors said there had been a ‘feud’ between Bolland and Kyle Pearson, a sibling of the Pearson children who escaped the fire, with ‘tit for tat’ incidents occurring previously.
Bolland told jurors that he accepted throwing a petrol bomb into the house.
He said he believed the house was empty, and said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and wanted to damage the kitchen area. Bolland blamed Kyle Pearson for damage to his car, and jurors were told he thought the damage to the kitchen would be the ‘end of the feud.’ Worrall, who
They are accused of throwing petrol bombs into the Pearson family home in Jackson Street, Walkden, in the early hours of December 11, 2017
prosecutors claim threw a petrol bomb, denies this.
He has said he thought people were in the house, but believed they would be able to escape.
Jurors retired to consider their verdicts at noon, after a three week trial at Manchester Crown Court.
● Proceeding