Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Ringleader Jailed for Life as Trio Sentenced Over St Helens Arson That Killed Elderly Couple

Prosecutors described a drug‑retaliation plot proven through CCTV, phone data, witness testimony.

Overview

  • At Liverpool Crown Court, Kevin Weetman received life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years for two counts of manslaughter, with the judge calling him extremely dangerous.
  • Kylie Maynard was jailed for 23 years and Lee Owens was sentenced to 13 years and six months for manslaughter, after a jury cleared all three of murder earlier in the week.
  • Weetman and Maynard also received concurrent sentences for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, 16 years and eight years respectively.
  • The fire on July 15, 2025, was ordered as punishment after George Jackson refused to sell drugs, killing uninvolved residents Sheila Jackson, 83, and Eric Greener, 77.
  • Investigators linked the group through travel footage, call records, and witnesses; Paul Smith, who helped set the fire and later confessed to a friend, died a week after the blaze as inquiries into his death continue.