A granddad's beloved dog still waits for him at the top of the stairs nearly a year after he was killed in a fire.
George Redmond died aged 76 just over two weeks after the blaze at his home on Dorien Road in Old Swan in September last year. Wayne Hepburn and Fraser Dolman were jailed at Liverpool Crown Court this afternoon after admitting his manslaughter.
They had plotted together to torch the front door of a rival in what was described as a "warning" connected to the drug trade. But the botched "revenge attack" saw the "wrong property" set alight.
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Mr Redmond's daughter Kathryn Bushnell read out an emotional statement to the court during their sentencing hearing today. In it, she said: "It’s been 10 months now since the petrol attack on our home and the death of George – a much-loved husband, dad and grandad – and the saying that time is a healer is just not true.
"Every day we wake and remember the gravity of the incident which ultimately ended his life earlier than the natural order of how a peaceful death in old age should be. No one should ever be subjected it 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.
“While nothing can ever undo or make us understand or even come to terms with this appalling situation, we hope that justice can be served. This will at least offer us some small comfort as we continue the grieving process, least of all because we would not wish for anyone else to ever experience what we as a family have gone and continue to go through.
"Our fear is that, if someone is able to petrol bomb a house once, then they are certainly capable of doing it again if they think they can get away with it. Justice must prevail so that those capable of such heinous crimes are taken out of society and are not able to do this to anyone else."
The court earlier heard that Mr Redmond's wife Mary was woken at around 3am on September 1 last year by the grandfather-of-six shouting: "Mary, get up. Get down here."
Henry Riding, prosecuting, described how the smoke alarms had been activated, and she went onto the landing to find "smoke engulfing the stairs". Mr Redmond was "struggling" to unlock the front door downstairs, and Mrs Redmond took the keys from him and opened it – burning her fingers in the process.
The elderly couple were helped out of their house by neighbours, who by chance had been arriving home in a taxi from Manchester Airport at the time after a holiday. They also used water in order to extinguish the fire.
Mrs Redmond was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and was discharged soon afterwards. But Mr Redmond was left "writhing around in pain" after sustaining a broken hip.
He reported being awoken when he heard said neighbours banging on his front door and shouting his and wife's names. The pensioner stated that he had "slipped on the bottom two or three stairs" while fleeing the fire, describing his pain as being "nine out of 10".
Mr Redmond died in hospital on September 16. A post-mortem investigation found that he had been "in poor health" and passed away as a result of an "acute cardiac failure".
His injuries were "very likely to have contributed" to this. Mr Riding added: "In other words, Mr Redmond's fractured hip and the treatment for it did make a more than minimal contribution to his death."
An investigation into the incident unearthed CCTV footage which showed Hepburn arriving in the area in a stolen Audi TT, bearing false number plates. The 47-year-old, of Kingsley Avenue in Salford, drove back out of the cul-de-sac and parked nearby before returning on foot and carrying a 5l petrol can.
After receiving a six-second phone call from Dolman on his girlfriend's phone, he entered the garden of the Redmonds' home and poured the accelerant over the front door. There was then an "almighty flash" captured on camera, with Hepburn inadvertently being "engulfed in flames".
He "immediately fled the scene" at this point, leaving the petrol can behind with a quantity of fuel still inside. His DNA was found on this item, as well as upon the garden gate.
Enquiries further revealed that, late on the evening of August 31, a third defendant – James Goulding – had texted the postcode for Dorien Road to Dolman. There followed further phone contact over the coming hours between the two men before they met up in the St Helens area early on September 1.
Dolman then returned to his native Greater Manchester, meeting with Hepburn in Leigh. At some point after 2am, the arsonist set off by road for Merseyside.
Goulding and Dolman were described as "associates involved in drug trafficking offences together", with their dealings in the underworld exposed after the latter's phone was seized following his arrest. This showed that the 37-year-old had been supplied by his criminal ally, who went by the nickname "Scouse Fox", with wholesale quantities of heroin and cocaine – which he was then selling at a street level.
Henry Riding, prosecuting, told the court: "This, in the opinion of the police and the crown, was some form of revenge attack, carried out as a warning to those involved with Mr Dolman in drugs trafficking offences. This was meant to be targeting somebody else's premises."
Hepburn was said to have "got it wrong" because the houses were numbered "sequentially", rather than having odd and even numbers on opposite sides of the road. It was added that the conspirators "did not necessarily appreciate or think there was somebody in the premises".
But he callously "declined to attend court" for his sentencing. Hepburn has a total of 44 previous convictions for 84 offences, including being jailed for 38 months for false imprisonment in 2017.
His defence counsel Chris Hudson said: "He does jobs for other people. He is not a prime mover in anything.
"He is clearly a follower rather than a leader. It was bungling ineptitude.
"That’s the reality of the matter. It properly reflects this defendant.
"It was intended to be a warning, and it was not intended that anybody should be harmed. The tragic consequences were not intended, they were probably not even contemplated by this defendant."
Fraser Dolman, of Richmond Drive in Leigh, has 13 convictions for 30 offences. Andrew Scott, defending, told the court: "Of course, it’s clear that Mr Goulding is the upstream supplier and Mr Dolman is at the bottom of the chain."
He added that his client had "tried his very best to turn his life around" following his "last significant offence" in 2011 following the birth of his child. Dolman was also said to have previously had a "disturbed and criminal youth".
Goulding, of Dentons Green Lane in St Helens, has amassed 18 convictions for 35 offences. The 26-year-old previously received three years for possession of heroin and crack cocaine in 2016 and 58 months for production of heroin on the Isle of Man in 2019, being released from the latter sentence in November 2021.
Tom Watson said on his behalf: "At 26, he now has a partner sitting at the side of court and plans a different future for himself. If he doesn’t do that, he is going to become institutionalised.
"He needs to put this behind him at this age so he can move on. He wants to put this life behind him."
Hepburn admitted manslaughter and conspiracy to commit arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He was jailed for 15 years having also pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary, one of attempted burglary and one of fraud in relation to break-ins in the Manchester area – in which homes, a care home and a coffee shop were targeted.
Dolman admitted manslaughter and conspiracy to commit arson, as well as being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. He was locked up for 16 years and three months.
One of his supporters in the public gallery was heard to mutter "f***ing hell" as his sentence was passed, while another shouted "what?". Mr Redmond's loved ones meanwhile sat in dignified silence.
Goulding pleaded guilty to the drug charges, with manslaughter and arson counts he had previously faced ordered to lie on the file. He was imprisoned for six years.
One of Dolman’s family said "see you in a bit babe" as he was taken to the cells, while another woman walked out saying: "Love you our kid. Keep your chin up.
"F*** 'em, we’ll see you soon. I’m not a***d mum."
Sentencing, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said: "This was a dreadful, cowardly attack and the consequences for George Redmond, his wife Mary and his family were catastrophic. This attack was plainly to do with drug dealing or other criminal activity, and tragically it is clear that the property that was targeted was the wrong property.
"The other offences for which I am sentencing you demonstrate that you were all involved in regular criminal offending. That is the sort of people you are.
"Although Hepburn poured the petrol, he was acting with you, Fraser Dolman. The clear pathology evidence is that the ordeal of this fire and his injury made a significant contribution to his untimely death.
"The fact of the matter is that George Redmond should not have died when he did or in the circumstances in which he did. He was plainly a well-loved husband, father and grandfather and the loss the family have suffered is irreparable.
"This was very serious criminal offending. It may be it was intended to send a message, but it was a dreadful way of doing that."
The city's top judge also said Hepburn's refusal to attend court was "not very impressive conduct", adding in his sentencing remarks: "He has shown his contempt for these proceedings and, frankly, cowardly contempt for the victims of his offences by his refusal to attend court today. I can only conclude from that that he is not remorseful at all and there will be no reduction of sentence on that account."
Detective Inspector Gavin Mulcahy said following the sentencing: “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. Thankfully, both offenders entered guilty pleas at the start of the trial – which spared the family from having to relive the horrific night of the arson attack where the wrong house was deliberately set fire to.
"No one can comprehend Hepburn and Dolman’s mindless and stupid act. I want to thank the community in Old Swan who came together to support both the family and the police conducting extensive enquiries following the attack.
"After a complex investigation, I hope this sentencing demonstrates our commitment and relentless pursuit to catch and prosecute such offenders. Losing a husband, father and grandfather, has had a devastating impact on Mary and her family.
"Although no prison term will bring George back, I hope today’s sentencing provides them some solace that Dolman and Hepburn are paying for their crimes."