Tragic last days of Michelle Pearson: Mom spent final months 'crying' after arson attack killed her children
A mother, whose four children were killed in a blaze that engulfed their home, spent the final months of her life in hospital crying in pain and asking for her kids.
Michelle Pearson, 37, suffered burns to 75% of her body after her home in Jackson Street, Walkden, Greater Manchester, was torched following a petrol bomb attack on December 11, 2017. Twenty months after the attack, in August 2019, Michelle, who spent five months, also died.
While Michelle's two eldest children survived the arson attack, her four other children — Demi, 15, Brandon, 8, Lacie, 7, and Lia, 3 — all succumbed in the fire.
In a heartbreaking statement, Michelle's mother Sandra said: "After a hard 20 months of fighting, our beautiful Michelle gained her wings and went to join her babies."
The attack on the house was carried out by three friends of Michelle's eldest son Kyle, Zak Bolland, 23, David Worrall, 25, and Courtney Brierley, 20, who harassed and abused the family for weeks in the lead up to the fatal fire.
Michelle, who was described as "the mother of the community," had reportedly tried to help the attackers on numerous occasions, but to no avail, and the harassment ultimately culminated in the fatal arson attack.
Emergency services were called to the location shortly after 5 am that morning, though rescue workers were unable to rescue three of the children—Demi, Brandon, and Lacie. Lia was alive when they pulled her out of a burning room, but died from her injuries a few days later.
Michelle, who had braved the flames in a desperate attempt to rescue her children, made it out alive but suffered grave injuries that left her in a medically-induced coma.
Her mother said Michelle only came to know of her children's deaths five months after the attack because of her comatose state. "It had to come from me or the nurses and she asked about the kids—she said, 'Where's my baby?'" Sandra revealed. "She was in denial. She kept asking every day for about six weeks when it sunk in."
She was "heartbroken" and after hearing Bolland was responsible said "he killed my kids, he killed my babies", the family said.
Bolland was convicted of four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder and given four life sentences for his role in the crime. He was mandated to serve at least 40 years behind bars, ten years for each of the four murders. His then-girlfriend, Brierley, was convicted of four counts of manslaughter and sentenced to 21 years behind bars. Worrall was convicted of four counts of murder and three counts of grievous bodily harm and similarly given four life sentences. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 37 years.
In a statement, the victims' family said: "We are still trying to come to terms with how cruelly they were taken away from us, a whole family has been torn apart and destroyed in one night. Nothing will ever bring them back and my family will never be the same again.
"Losing Michelle and the children is still very raw, and we are all still struggling to come to terms with losing them especially the way they died in such a horrific way.
"It is hard enough to lose one person that you love through being deliberately and cruelly taken away from you but to lose five is unbearable.
"The sentences that have been given will never be enough, no amount of time will ever be enough, we have lost not only my four beautiful grandchildren but my amazing daughter.
"Michelle and the children filled a massive place in all our hearts and our family will never be the same ever again. We are all utterly heartbroken and forever will be.
"Michelle had so much more to give to this world, and the children had a full life ahead of them."