Judge says Joe Holland's family 'played no part' in 'disturbing incidents' that followed his killing
James Preston's home was torched with two children inside after his arrest for the murder of Joe Holland
News Crime reporter20:00, 23 Dec 2023Updated 20:01, 23 Dec 2023
The family of a man murdered in a "ferocious" drug-fuelled knife attack "played no part" in a firebomb attack on his killer's home, a judge concluded.
Joe Holland, 25, was stabbed four times and left with a further seven "incised wounds" at a house in Huyton House Road, Fincham, in the early hours of June 8 this year. James Preston, 21, who had invited Mr Holland back to the family home after a night out, admitted stabbing his supposed friend but claimed he had acted in self-defence saying Mr Holland picked up the knife first.
Mr Holland's body was found by police in a locked downstairs bathroom next to a handwritten note, left by Preston, which read: "It was me or him." He had been stabbed in the chest with "severe force" by a blow that severed a rib before puncturing his heart and lung.
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Preston was convicted of murder by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court on December 14, and jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years in prison on Thursday this week.
During the trial, the jury heard Preston's home was "torched". Indeed, in the early hours of July 5 this year, hours before Mr Holland's funeral that same day, two men poured flammable liquid through the letter box of the family home before smashing the front window with a brick and setting it alight.
Two young children and two adults were inside although no-one was seriously injured.
The ECHO obtained footage of the incident from a Ring doorbell camera which showed two men with their faces partially covered creeping up to the front door.
On the driveway, a small child's bike is clearly visible with a seat for a doll or teddy bear attached. Audio from the camera captures the two men whispering to each other, followed by a gurgling sound as an accelerant is poured through the letterbox of the front door from a petrol can.
One of the men then launches a brick through the window before the other pours the remainder of the fuel into the living room. As the liquid is being poured, the other offender sets an item alight and then throws it through the window causing an instant fireball.
Preston was already in custody at that time, having handed himself into police in Kent on June 10, but was himself attacked in jail and slashed across the face, leaving him with a large, visible scar on his right cheek.
In court, Preston claimed he fled the house after the stabbing because: "I was scared….what Joe’s family and friends are capable of doing. I had my face cut while I’m in jail. They’ve tried to burn my mum’s house down with the kids in while I’ve been in jail."
However Preston appears to have had enemies before the murder of Joe Holland. On June 9, 2021, a number of shots were fired at the same house by a gunman believed to have been riding a motorbike.
After sentencing Preston, trial judge His Honour David Aubrey, KC, made a comment about the disturbing incidents that followed the killing. He said: "I add that there is no evidence that the family played any part in the damage caused to the house on Huyton House Road but retribution can play no part in a civilised society.
"The punishment of offenders is a matter for the court and only the court. If anyone is ever brought to justice for the damage to the house they can expect condign punishment."
During the eigh- day trial, the jury of seven men and five women had heard the night began in good spirits with Preston and Mr Holland attending a meal with a large group of friends at Jumbo Chinese Restaurant in Dovecot, followed by drinks in the Deysbrook pub in West Derby. CCTV footage from both venues showed both men, and others in the group, openly snorting ketamine.
Later, Preston, Mr Holland and a mutual friend called Sean Ruud took a taxi back to Preston's mum's house on Huyton House Road, where they continued drinking and inhaling balloons filled with nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas. At some point shortly before 12.30am, Preston attacked Mr Ruud by punching and kicking him which caused him to storm out.
A Ring doorbell camera on the house, which recorded Mr Ruud's departure, also recorded what the court heard was most likely Mr Holland's voice saying: "You're out of order." At some point shortly after 12.47am, Preston turned a large kitchen knife on his friend. It was found covered in blood and with a bent blade next to Mr Holland's body.
Preston "methodically" cleaned the house for around four hours before taking a taxi to Liverpool Lime Street Station where he boarded a train to London.
Judge Aubrey, passing sentence, told Preston: "Joseph Holland was just 25 years of age, you are 21 years of age, and he was your friend. But he was far more than just your friend; he was a son, a brother, a boyfriend and a friend to many.
"You have shattered his family's lives and their lives will never be the same. There is now excruciating pain and grief, a numbness and void within the family. He was a loving and loyal man and the harm that you have done and the suffering that you have caused can never be undone by any sentence of this court.”
Mark Ford, KC, prosecuting, read a number of victim personal statements to the court written by Joe's family. His mum, Brenda Holland, said: "James Preston is an evil cowardly monster. I hope he rots in hell. Not only has he taken Joe’s life, he has taken all our lives as well."
The moment two men fire-bomb family home of killer James Preston
Judge Aubrey told the court he was satisfied that Mr Holland had not been the aggressor and there was no element of self-defence involved in the case.
He said: "I am satisfied so that I am sure that it was not the deceased who had attacked you and you having responded in excessive self-defence. I am further satisfied this was a ferocious attack and that you had formed an intention to kill notwithstanding you did so in a transient drugged haze which is in my judgment an aggravating factor."
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