Michelle Pearson: Petrol bomb victim who lost four children dies 20 months after attack
Zak Bolland and David Worral are serving life sentences for murder
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A petrol bomb victim has died 20 months after an attack which killed four of her children.
Michelle Pearson had been in hospital since the bombing in December 2017.
Zak Bolland and David Worral were convicted of murder last year, after a jury heard they had smashed Ms Pearson’s kitchen window and thrown two lit petrol bombs into her home.
Bolland’s bottle exploded by the stairs, blocking the only exit to the ground floor and trapping the victims upstairs.
Flames engulfed the three-bedroom property within seconds.
Ms Pearson woke up and screamed “Not the kids! Not my kids!” and dialled 999, but she was overcome with heat and smoke before completing the call.
The blaze killed four of her children.
Demi Pearson, 15, her brother Brandon, aged eight, and sisters Lacie, aged seven, and Lia, aged three, all died.
Ms Pearson’s son, Kyle, escaped.
On Sunday Ms Pearson’s mother, Sandra Lever, wrote on Facebook: “Sadly last night, after a hard 20 months of fighting, our beautiful Michelle gained her wings and went to join her babies.”
A jury at Manchester Crown Court heard last year that Bolland and Worral were involved in a petty feud with Kyle Pearson.
The court heard that the men were fuelled by drink and drugs as they filled two glass bottles with £1.50 of petrol bought from a local garage before the attack.
They hurled their petrol bombs into the house at 5am on 11 December 2017.
“We are all incredibly upset to learn of Michelle‘s passing, 20 months on from this tragic incident,” said Leon Parkes, assistant county fire officer with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
“I would like to extend our condolences to her friends and family and to those in the community in Walkden who have been affected in what must be a tremendously difficult time.”
Additional reporting by agencies