Wigan borough man jailed for more than 16 years after grandad died from injuries fleeing arson attack on 'wrong house'

George Redmond, 76, fell and broke and his hip while escaping the fire at his home on Dorien Road, in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the early hours of September 1, 2022.

He was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation and other injuries, along with his wife Mary, but Mr Redmond died on September 16.

Fraser Dolman, 37, of Richmond Drive, Leigh, and Wayne Hepburn, 46, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit manslaughter and arson with intent at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.

Today, Dolman was jailed for 16 years and three months, while Hepburn was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

An associate James Goulding, 26 of Denton’s Green, St Helens, was jailed for six years for drugs offences on a separate matter.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Redmond’s family described him as a “much-loved husband, dad and grandad”, adding: “The saying that time is a healer is just not true.”

The statement continued: “Every day we wake and remember the gravity of the incident, which ultimately ended his life earlier than natural order of how a peaceful death in old age should be.

“No-one should ever be subjected to such horrific attack in their own home. The fear and stress he experienced while in hospital after the attack will stay with us forever. A fear that Mary still lives through every single day. Flashbacks and nightmares are a feature of everyday life now. Waking to the slightest noise, being suspicious of anyone who knocks at the door, being scared to go out alone and spending every day asking, why?

“Why did this happen to us, to our home? Sleepless nights are commonplace now, as are breathing difficulties as a result of smoke inhalation. You cannot even begin to imagine how smoke lingers for so much longer after a fire is extinguished. Even George’s beloved dog Belle sits at the top of the stairs still waiting for him and is scared by the slightest noise.

“While houses can be repaired and fire damage can be covered up, memories cannot be erased. This in itself is both a blessing and curse.

"On the one hand it allows us to remember many happy memories of times gone before, of a loving family man who lived solely for his wife, his children and grandchildren. We were his whole world, just as he was ours. Everything he did, he did for us.

“On the other hand it means that we relive the night of the attack over and over and are reminded of what we have lost every single day. All the things he will miss and all the firsts are the hardest.”

Afterwards, Det Insp Gavin Mulcahy said: “This was a tragic and shocking attack on innocent occupants from an arson attack where Dolman and Hepburn targeted the wrong house.“The local community were not only shocked at the arson attack, but also the tragic consequences where George lost his life weeks later as a result of sustaining injuries escaping the fire. George’s wife Mary narrowly escaped also requiring treatment for smoke inhalation.”