Innocent couple murdered in arson attack over drugs, jury told

An innocent elderly couple were murdered in a botched night-time arson attack on their home over drugs, a court heard.

Sheila Jackson, 83, and her partner, Eric Greener, 77, suffered fatal injuries in the blaze last July at their terraced house on South John Street, St Helens, Merseyside.

But the intended target, Ms Jackson’s son, George Jackson, was out at the time of the attack, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

He returned to find his mother being carried from the burning house by firefighters, pleading with them to help her.

Mr Greener was also rescued from the blaze, but both died in hospital from burns and smoke inhalation.

Lee Owens, 46, and another man, Paul Smith, 40, who has since died, are alleged to have travelled from Liverpool to St Helens, to start the fire, just after 12.30pm on July 15 last year.

They were allegedly “put up” to carry out the attack by drug dealer, Kevin Weetman, 34, with the help of one of his drug sellers, Kylie Maynard, 37, who knew George Jackson.

Nigel Power KC, opening the case for the prosecution to the jury at the start of the trial said: “Whilst it does not matter in law, Eric and Sheila were not the intended victims of the blaze.

“About a month earlier, Kevin Weetman and Kylie Maynard had tried to trick George Jackson, Shelia’s son, into working for Mr Weetman as a drug dealer.

“Mr Jackson had helped out Ms Maynard when she had been robbed of drugs, sometimes called taxing, by some other people.”

Mr Power said Weetman gave Mr Jackson half an ounce of cocaine, worth between £400 and £750, for helping out Maynard.

Mr Power continued: “Initially Mr Weetman said, this is a gift, a reward, for helping out Kylie after she got robbed.

“But he offered Mr Jackson the chance to go to work for him.

“Mr Jackson declined the offer, and thought nothing of it, until sometime later when Mr Weetman again contacted him and asked him to work for him.

“And when Mr Jackson declined for the second time, the mood changed, what had been a gift or reward ceased to be so, and Mr Weetman started to ask where his ‘dough’ was.

“Whilst there was, apparently, no threat made – the Crown say Mr Weetman resolved to take action to prevent a loss of “face” – “face” is all important in the drugs world, and set in motion a plan to kill, or at least cause really serious harm to, George Jackson by setting fire to his house in the middle of the night.

“Whilst Paul Smith and Lee Owens failed to kill Mr Jackson, the fire they set caused the deaths of Eric and Shelia.”

The court heard Owens has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Greener and Ms Jackson, and no one disputes that Smith was involved.

Both Weetman and Maynard have pleaded guilty to conspiring together to supply cocaine between November 2024 and September 2025.

But Owens claims he only intended to damage the house, and Weetman and Maynard deny that they had anything to do with the fire. All three deny murder.

Jurors heard, Weetman, who is known as “Red Head”, is a drug dealer based in the Anfield area of Liverpool, who had control over a number of people, including Kylie Maynard, who was supplying cocaine on his behalf, and Paul Smith, also known as “Smigger”.

Weetman sold his drugs by sending out “flare” or mass messages from his mobile phone to customers’ numbers.

In May of last year, George Jackson became aware “from general chit chat on the estate” about Kylie Maynard selling cocaine and bought some of the drug from her.

The next month, Mr Jackson helped Maynard after she had been “taxed” of drugs by three youths on a canal tow path in St Helens.

He took her to the house he shared with his mother and Mr Greener, allowing her to stay there to help recover.

Weetman told Mr Jackson he would reward him for helping Maynard, but Mr Jackson told him to forget about it.

But Weetman was insistent and the handed over the drugs while offering Mr Jackson a job, working for him.

In the following days, there were further attempts by Weetman and Maynard to contact Mr Jackson to get him to work a drugs line, without success, Mr Power said.

On the night of the arson attack, Smith collected Owens on a motorbike, from the Anfield area of Liverpool, and arrived at their victim’s home at 25 minutes past midnight.

A neighbour was in her bedroom when she heard someone shout the words, “do it then”.

Ten seconds later she heard a women’s high-pitched screams and could smell petrol and saw black smoke coming from the front door of the targeted property, with neighbours trying to douse the flames and screaming for someone to call 999.

Sheila Jackson called 999, telling them her house was on fire and could not breathe.

The first fire engine arrived around five minutes later and two fire fighters in breathing apparatus went in, rescuing Ms Jackson, unconscious from a front upstairs bedroom, thick with back smoke.

At the same time, George Jackson, who had only “popped out” shortly before, arrived outside the address and was shouting “Mum!”

A second fire crew went in and brought out Mr Greener, unconscious but breathing.

Both were rushed to the burns unit at Whiston Hospital, St Helens.

A fire investigator concluded the fire was deliberately set by a naked flame being applied to ignitable liquid which had been put on the UPVC front door of the property, the fire growing and spreading rapidly, producing toxic gases.

Mr Greener died in hospital the next day and Sheila Jackson the following day, both from burns and smoke inhalation.

Mr Power told the jury of an apparent confession by alleged fire-starter Smith, to his partner, Sarah Dunne, before his death.

Smith had told her he was responsible for the fire, on Weetman’s orders, saying words to the effect: “I had to go somewhere and set a house on fire but the fella’s mum and dad were upstairs,” the jury heard.

The trial, estimated to last up to six weeks, continues.