Killer who murdered mother and her four children in arson attack could have been arrested hours before he petrol bombed their home, inquest hears

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By ELEANOR MANN 19:11 13 Oct 2026, updated 19:20 13 Oct 2026

An inquest has heard how a killer who murdered a mother and her four children after torching their house could have been arrested by police hours before the attack.

Michelle Pearson passed away aged 37 in August 2019, more than a year-and-a-half after her children, Demi Pearson, 15, Brandon, eight, Lacie, seven, and Lia, three, died in the devastating blaze at their home in Salford.

Ms Pearson suffered 68 per cent burns to her body in the fire – which occurred in December 2017 – but ‘clung on to life’ until she died in hospital.

Now, a court has heard that her killer could have been arrested hours before he petrol bombed their home.

PC Mick Grundy, who was, at the time, a probationary officer with Greater Manchester Police (GMP), was called to the home of Michelle Pearson, 37, after she made a 999 call.

Bolton Coroner’s Court heard how Ms Pearson’s son had been threatened and her home came under attack by Zak Bolland and his associates.

Bolland, 26, had been in a feud with Ms Pearson’s son and had already daubed ‘Grass’ on her house, smashed her windows, set her wheelie bin on fire and threatened to firebomb the house.

At around 12.40am on December 11, 2017, Bolland and others damaged her home again and threatened to ‘do the house’, leading Ms Pearson to call the police again.

PC Grundy and his colleague PC Gemma Quinn took a statement from her and left the property in Jackson Street, Walkden, around 3.20am.

But they went back to the station to do the paperwork – and did not go to arrest Bolland immediately. He is understood to have been at his home at the time, around 350 yards away.

Bolland returned to Jackson Street at just before 5am with an accomplice, 28-year-old David Worrall.

They smashed Ms Pearson’s windows at the back of the house and tossed in petrol bombs.

One ‘exploded’ near the stairs – blocking the only exit to the ground floor and trapping the family inside.

Sleeping upstairs along with Ms Pearson were her children – Demi Pearson, 15, her brother Brandon, eight, and sisters Lacie, seven, and Lia, aged three.

All four children were killed, as the blaze quickly engulfed the property.

Ms Pearson suffered 68 per cent burns to her body and ‘clung on to life’ until she died, 20 months after the attack, on August 25, 2019.

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?’

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?’

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.’

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.

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.

Pictured: Man mauled to death by tiger at Yorkshire zoo as video shows moment he walked up to the 30…

Debts paid off, bank accounts closed, then a poignant visit to the lake where their mother drowned:…

Burnham is in retreat over Russia Brexit ‘lies’: Boris and Farage blast PM’s referendum claim

Civil servant used remote working to fraudulently hold down FIVE government jobs at the same time,…

How traditional British surnames are dying out: Khan, Ahmed and Ali enter top 10 baby names and…

Terrorists are plotting drone attacks in Britain and could kill using bioweapons as AI…

Dad who fell to his death from Six Flags roller coaster levitated and made eye contact with other…

Michael Gove’s Oxford don ex-girlfriend is facing trial for possession of child abuse images

‘This is Derbyshire, not North Korea’: Son put ‘under surveillance’ by council which dumped huge…

Princess Eugenie shares sweet clip of her baby girl Adelaide as she celebrates eight years married…

London council shames fly-tippers by posting photos of them dumping rubbish after announcing…

The Badenoch bounce! Kemi boasts of ‘more to come’ as poll shows Tories leapfrogging Reform after…

Inside the new life of ‘road rage’ killer Tracie Andrews, as a Channel 5 drama retells her…

Woman crushed to death by suicidal jumper from 11th floor in Japan – but he survives: Father demands…

Trump lashes out at fury over Putin diesel deal and says ‘the EU paid Russia $250billion for energy…

Man who fell to his death from Six Flags roller coaster was riding with his son while wife and…

Killer who murdered family in arson attack ‘could have been arrested’Comments are subject to our House rules and TermsNewest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}

No one seems to have shared their thoughts on this topic yetLeave a comment so your voice will be heard first.

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{#replies.comments}}{{^isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{#isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{/replies.comments}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{^replies.totalCount}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{/isComment}}The opinions and views expressed in the comments section are solely those of the individual users and do not represent or reflect the opinions, views, or positions of MailOnline. MailOnline does not endorse, support, or verify the accuracy of any user-generated content.Terms|Privacy|FeedbackOldest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}