A mother who suffered severe burns in an arson attack died while clutching a photograph of her four children, an inquest has heard.
Michelle Pearson was 37 when she died in August 2019, more than 18 months after Demi Pearson, 15, Brandon, eight, Lacie, seven, and three-year-old Lia were killed in the devastating fire at their Salford home.
The blaze, which broke out in December 2017, left Ms Pearson with burns covering 68 per cent of her body. She remained alive in hospital for more than a year before eventually losing her fight for life.
Bolton Coroner’s Court was told this week that the mother-of-six died with a crucifix placed around a photograph of her children in her hand.
Zak Bolland and David Worrall, who were 26 and 28 at the time, were convicted of all five murders and each received four life sentences.
The inquest heard that Ms Pearson and her children had been “petrified” in the weeks before the fatal attack, following a series of incidents at their home in Walkden.
Ms Pearson told police she believed the family was at risk and had approached a housing provider in an attempt to secure another home.
She reported a campaign of escalating harassment, including smashed windows, a wheelie bin being set alight and graffiti being sprayed across the walls of the property.
In a statement read to the court, Ms Pearson’s mother, Sandra Lever, said her daughter had been desperate to leave the house.
Michelle Pearson (pictured) died aged 37 while clutching a photograph of her children, more than 18 months after four of them were killed in a devastating house fire
Brandon, eight, (left), seven-year-old Lacie (centre) and three-year-old Lia (right) died in the house fire
Demi Pearson (pictured), 15, also died in the blaze
“Michelle was beyond distressed,” she said. “She was not eating. The children were petrified of living in Jackson Street.”
The children were said to have suffered nightmares, while eight-year-old Brandon told his mother that he did not want to remain living at the property.
However, Ms Pearson said she felt “fobbed off” after being told by the housing provider that she did not qualify for emergency accommodation.
Elaine Williams, who lived nearby, told the inquest that she had seen Bolland smashing the windows of Ms Pearson’s home with a hammer just weeks before the fatal arson attack.
Mrs Williams said: “She wanted to move from there. She was fed up with all the trouble. She just wanted out.
“Michelle’s nerves were shot. She was at her wits’ end and she was worried.”
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The family’s relatives believe the deaths were “wholly preventable” and have questioned whether state agencies missed opportunities to intervene and keep them safe.
Timothy Brennand, senior coroner for Greater Manchester West, said as he opened the inquest, which is expected to continue for about eight weeks: “This is not a trial, this is not an exercise in blame and shame.”
He said the inquest would seek to examine whether there was ‘any predictable threat to life’ and ‘what could or should have been done that might have prevented these deaths’.
The coroner said the inquest aims to give the Pearson family a voice but added that their concerns, ‘coalesce into two words of rhetoric – “What if?”‘
Zak Bolland (left) and David Worrall (right), then 26 and 28 respectively, were jailed for life over the attack
A statement released by the family when Ms Pearson passed away read: ‘We know she’s back with her children and out of pain’
Mr Brennand read the remarks of Mr Justice Davis, who jailed for life the family’s killers, Bolland and Worrall, for carrying out the attack with petrol bombs in the dead of night.
Mr Brennand said the judge had determined a series of tit-for-tat attacks had taken place as part of a feud in the lead-up to the fatal firebombing, but what lay behind the dispute was never made public.
Earlier, Anna Morris KC, representing the Pearson family, read pen portraits about each of the victims from their families.
She described Michelle Pearson as a devoted mother who read her children bedtime stories each night.
After suffering massive injuries herself in the blaze, for some time during lengthy hospital treatment she was not aware her children were dead, but her mental health deteriorated after she was given the news.
‘We know she’s back with her children and out of pain,’ the family statement said.
Demi was described as a ‘happy, smiley child’ who was ‘best friends’ with her mother.
Brandon had an infectious smile and was a ‘mummy’s boy’ while his sister Lacie was a little ‘diva’ and Lia a little chatterbox with a cheeky laugh.
‘All of the children had such bright futures ahead of them,’ the family statement said, adding: ‘We cherish the short time we shared with them.’
Bolland and Worrall were both given four life sentences and told they would serve a minimum of 40 and 37 years respectively for the petrol bombing.
Bolland’s girlfriend, Courtney Brierley, 20, was jailed for 21 years for four counts of manslaughter.
The inquest continues.