Understand
Police officer tells inquest she thought Salford petrol bomb killer was making empty threats
Overview
At an inquest into the deaths of a mother and four of her children in a 2017 petrol bomb attack in Walkden, Salford, Greater Manchester Police officer PC Gemma Quinn has told Bolton Coroner's Court that she chose not to arrest Zak Bolland hours before the attack because she believed he was making empty threats. Four children died in the December 2017 fire, and their mother Michelle Pearson died 20 months later. Zak Bolland and David Worrall were subsequently jailed for life for murder.
Key points
- PC Gemma Quinn told Bolton Coroner's Court she did not arrest Zak Bolland hours before the fatal arson attack because she thought his threats were empty.
- Michelle Pearson had called 999 to report that Bolland had threatened her son and her home in Walkden, Salford.
- Four of Michelle's children died in the petrol bomb attack on 11 December 2017, and Michelle herself died from severe burns in August 2019.
- Zak Bolland and David Worrall were convicted of murdering the four children in 2018 and of Michelle's murder in 2021.
- PC Quinn stated that she carries the guilt every day and has not done front-line policing since the incident.
- The inquest is examining contact Michelle had with police and social services in the weeks leading up to the fire.