Pair jailed for life over £15 debt murders
Jake Sheehan and David Philip
Monday, 09, Nov 2009 05:22
By Richard James.
Two men have been jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering a grandmother and her granddaughter over a £15 debt.
Jake Sheehan, 20, and David Philip, 19, both from east London, were convicted at the Old Bailey last week and were today ordered to spend a minimum of 25 years behind bars.
Pauline Adams, 57, and Shannen Vickers, 17, died in a fire at a flat in Bethnal Green in February.
Police claim Sheehan and Philip targeted Mrs Adams's home following a dispute with her grandson, who also lived at the address.
The long running dispute over a £15 debt came to a head during the early hours on February 22nd when a fight broke out between all three.
Immediately after the fight it is claimed Philip made threats to Mrs Adams' grandson - telling him he would burn his house down.
Later that night, Sheehan and Philip set fire to a motorcycle before heading to Mrs Adams's home and pouring petrol through the letter box and igniting it.
Mrs Adams and her granddaughter died in the blaze, with subsequent post-mortems giving their cause of death as smoke inhalation.
Commenting after last week's verdict, Detective Inspector Larry Smith from the Metropolitan police said Sheehan and Philip had shown a "callous disregard for life" and praised those who gave evidence in the trial.