Young mum and her children dead – and case still unsolved
AS flames tore through the terraced council house, neighbours could hear their screams for help.
Trapped in an upstairs bedroom, there was nothing Diane Jones and her baby daughters Sarah-Jane and Shauna could do as the fire raged, fuelled by petrol poured through their front door.
When firefighters got to them Shauna’s tiny body was discovered on the window sill. It is thought her 21-year-old mother tried to throw her from the building in a desperate attempt to save her. Her 13-month-old sister was on the bed, her mother’s arms stretched over her. All three were dead.
Within hours a murder hunt was launched on the Gurnos estate in Merthyr Tydfil as the neighbourhood reeled in shock at the young family’s death.
In the months that followed theories of a revenge attack would emerge, motivated by the bitter end of an illicit affair – but 23 years after the death of a family deprived of a future, the case is no closer to being solved.
The crime would lead to one of the longest trials of its time, and an even a bigger appeal to clear the names of wrongly convicted neighbours Annette Hewins and Donna Clarke. For those left behind it has been a constant source of torment. Some have died before seeing justice done.
On October 11, 1995 the alarm was raised on Marigold Close after flames were seen coming from the home. Neighbours Anthony Pembridge and Dean Keating made a brave attempt at a rescue.
Firefighters found the lifeless bodies of Diane, two-year-old Shauna and one-year-old SarahJane. In the hours that followed dozens of detectives flooded the estate. An accelerator, thought to be petrol, was found in the burned-out house.
At the time of the fire the girls’ father Shaun Hibberd, was serving an eight-month prison sentence at Cardiff prison for burglary and threatening to kill a police officer. He was described by prison guards as “distraught”.
In November neighbours Donna Clarke, her aunt Annette Hewins and friend Denise Sullivan were taken in for questioning and released without charge.
It was not until February the following year that CCTV footage of Hewins and Clarke buying petrol on the night of the fire was uncovered. The three were arrested, released and re-arrested in quick succession.
After implicating Donna Clarke in her police statement, Denise Sullivan went to her solicitor to retract what she said before finding herself charged with murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
On February 25, 1997, the murder trial began. Clarke, 27, Sullivan, 25, and Hewins, 31, all denied murder and arson.
As the prosecution outlined their case jurors were faced with the horrifying last moments of the young family’s life.
Over the 70-day trial the prosecution argued that the fire had been a revenge attack after an affair between Donna Clarke and Diane’s partner had come to an end.
The defence argued Donna had actually been out drinking at the time of the fire, accompanied by Denise, fresh after returning from prison, and another friend.
At the end of months of evidence, the jury were sent away for a long, sobering deliberation.
Dramatic scenes were played out in court as the verdicts were delivered.
While cleared of murder, Annette and Donna had been found guilty of arson. The women were given a 20-year and 13-year sentence respectively.
Denise Sullivan was cleared of both murder and arson but was given four years’ custody for attempting to pervert the course of justice during the police inquiry.
No sooner had the guilty verdicts come in then the trio’s family announced that the women would all appeal.
On February 15, 1999 Lord Justice Kennedy ruled there had been insufficient evidence to support a conviction against Annette Hewins, while the judges decided there was nothing suspicious about her visit to a garage on the night of the fire.
In April 1999 Donna Clarke had her own conviction quashed. While judges had previously said she would face a re-trial, this was challenged after a legal argument. Eventually it was decided that her the case should lie on file.
By this time Denise Sullivan had already been released after having her sentence reduced on appeal to six months. In 2006 Annette Hewins took South Wales Police to court for malicious prosecution, and the force admitted she had not been involved in the arson attack.
In the years since the acquittal little progress has been made in the search for those responsible.
Speaking in October 2005 Detective Chief Inspector Layton Bennetta said: “Unless we get new information we may not have an end to this.”
A spokeswoman at the force confirmed the situation remained the same today. For Diane’s family the events of October 11, 1995 were a constant source of pain.
Her father, Johnny, was 52 years old when he took his own life. His wife, Myra, said he couldn’t live without his daughter and granddaughters.
Diane’s younger sister Mary saw the fire from her own home, and could not bring herself to return.
In 2015, 20 years after the fire, Myra was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. For Diane’s mother, her greatest fear was losing her battle before seeing justice. Sadly, her prediction turned out to be true, and on June 17, 2016 Myra passed away. In her absence, however, the pain lingers on.