Investigation following a fatal fire in Salford resumes

25 May 2018 01:04 PM

Our investigation linked to a fatal fire in Salford has now resumed following the conclusion of the criminal trial.

Children Demi, Brandon, Lacie and Lia Pearson all died as a result of the fire which happened on 11 December 2017. We received a referral from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) as they had been in contact with the family before the attack.

Zak Bolland, David Worrall and Courtney Brierley were charged with the murders of the four children and the attempted murders of the children’s mother, Michelle Pearson, her son Kyle Pearson and his friend Bobby Harris.

On 24 May 2018, Bolland was given a life sentence after being found guilty on all counts. Worrall was also given a life sentence for the murders of the children and three counts of grievous bodily harm with intent. Brierley was sentenced to 21 years in a young offenders’ institution for manslaughter regarding the deaths of the children. She was found not guilty of the three counts of attempted murder.

Our investigation began shortly after the tragedy but was suspended until the conclusion of the criminal trial. We are looking at the contact between GMP and Michelle Pearson and her family from 26 November to 11 December 2017. This includes reports to the force about property being damaged at Michelle Pearson’s house, and further threats made to damage the house.

IOPC Regional Director Amanda Rowe said: “Our thoughts remain with Michelle Pearson as well as her family and friends following their unimaginable loss.

“Our investigation team were at the trial. We’re aware that the information available to Greater Manchester Police and their actions before the fire was presented to the court. We will be analysing this contact in detail; to see if their response was appropriate and identify what could be learned from this tragedy.

“Before suspending our investigation we met with members of Michelle Pearson’s family to discuss our work. Although there is potentially a large amount of evidence to consider, we now aim to bring our involvement to a conclusion as soon as possible.”