An inquest has heard that the man who killed a mother and her four children by setting fire to their home might have been arrested by police just hours before the fatal attack.
Michelle Pearson died aged 37 in August 2019, more than 18 months after her children—Demi Pearson, 15, Brandon, eight, Lacie, seven, and three-year-old Lia—were killed in the devastating blaze at their Salford home.
Ms Pearson sustained burns to 68 per cent of her body in the December 2017 fire, but “clung on to life” in hospital before eventually dying.
The court has now heard that her attacker could have been taken into custody several hours before he petrol-bombed the family’s house.
PC Mick Grundy, then a probationary officer with Greater Manchester Police (GMP), attended Michelle Pearson’s home after she made a 999 call.
Bolton Coroner’s Court was told that Ms Pearson’s son had been threatened and that her home had already come under attack from Zak Bolland and people linked to him.
Bolland, 26, was involved in a feud with Ms Pearson’s son. Before the fatal attack, he had written “Grass” on the house, smashed its windows, set fire to the family’s wheelie bin and threatened to firebomb the property.
At about 12.40am on December 11, 2017, Bolland and others damaged the house once more and threatened to “do the house”, prompting Ms Pearson to contact police again.
Michelle Pearson (pictured) died aged 37 while clutching a photograph of her children, more than 18 months after four of them were killed in the devastating house fire
Demi Pearson (pictured) also died in the blaze at the age of 15
PC Grundy and his colleague, PC Gemma Quinn, took a statement from her before leaving the property on Jackson Street, Walkden, at around 3.20am.
Instead of immediately arresting Bolland, however, the officers returned to the station to complete their paperwork. He was reportedly at home at the time, about 350 yards away.
Just before 5am, Bolland returned to Jackson Street with 28-year-old accomplice David Worrall.
The pair smashed the rear windows of Ms Pearson’s home and threw petrol bombs inside.
One device “exploded” close to the stairs, blocking the only ground-floor exit and trapping the family inside.
Ms Pearson and her children were asleep upstairs: 15-year-old Demi, her eight-year-old brother Brandon, seven-year-old Lacie and three-year-old Lia.
The fire rapidly spread through the property, killing all four children.
Ms Pearson suffered burns to 68 per cent of her body and “clung on to life” for 20 months after the attack. She died on August 25, 2019.
Zak Bolland (left) and David Worrall (right), then aged 26 and 28, were sentenced to life in prison for the attack
On the seventh day of evidence at the inquest into the deaths, Anna Morris KC, representing the Pearson family, questioned PC Grundy.
Ms Morris said the family were concerned that it would have only taken a few minutes to go to Bolland’s home.
PC Grundy said: ‘I did not think about him coming back and doing what he did.’
Ms Morris continued: ‘He could’ve been arrested that night from the timings and information you had available to you?’
‘Yes,’ PC Grundy replied.
Ms Morris said that all the family received was a crime reference number by text message.
She added: ‘But what else did you put in place to keep them safe that night?’
‘Nothing,’ the officer replied.
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A statement released by the family when Ms Pearson passed away read: ‘We know she’s back with her children and out of pain’
The court then heard of another possible ‘missed opportunity’.
Two days before the fatal attack, Ms Pearson had called police when her wheelie bin was set on fire and the word ‘Grass’ was spray painted on her home.
Andrew O’Donnell, a police constable with GMP, was called to the house.
Ms Pearson named Bolland as the culprit, the same person who had broken her windows two weeks before and threatened to firebomb her home.
PC O’Donnell told the hearing Ms Pearson did not actually see Bolland setting the wheelie bin on fire or spraying the graffiti.
He said he made some house-to-house inquiries but could not trace any eye-witnesses or CCTV opportunities, and so concluded that there were no further lines of inquiry to pursue.
Laura Nash, counsel to the inquest, asked PC O’Donnell: ‘So as far as you are concerned, it’s case closed. And it was case closed. You closed this crime the same day.’
‘It is, yes,’ the officer replied.
Ms Nash asked where the officers’ ‘professional curiosity’ was to link Bolland to this latest attack.
The officer said he took ‘reasonable and proportionate’ inquiries and at the time it was regarded as a low-level crime, so crime scene investigators would not have attended to look for evidence.
Ms Nash pointed out that one way to deal with any risk from Bolland would be to arrest him.
‘On what evidence?’ the officer replied.
Ms Nash replied: ‘Your inquiry started and stopped on the same day.’
Sophie Cartwright KC questioned the officer as to why he did not go to Bolland’s address to check the CCTV there, adding: ‘This is basic policing.’
The officer replied: ‘Putting somebody near the scene or three streets away, does not put them at the scene.’
PC Grundy said they had no evidence on which to arrest Bolland at the time.
Ms Cartwright said there was a ‘chain of events’ linking him to the crime and that he could have been checked for any paint, smoke smell or fire damage to his clothing.
She added: ‘The very least you could have done was go and find Zak Bolland. These are reasonable lines of inquiry.’
PC O’Donnell replied: ‘Ok. They would be, if we could have put him at the scene.’
Timothy Brennand, senior coroner for Manchester West, asked the officer – given that 48 hours later Bolland would murder the family in a firebombing – what his reaction was and if he had thought about what he could have done differently.
The officer replied: ‘Yes. That’s a natural thing to do. At the time we had done everything we could.
‘Obviously, what has happened, has happened.’
In 2018, Bolland and Worrall were both given four life sentences and were 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.
Ms Pearson had called police on at least five occasions in the two weeks before the firebombing and had begged to be re-housed, the murder trial at Manchester Crown Court heard.
The inquest continues.
