One of the men who set fire to the house has since died but three defendants have gone on trial accused the murders of Eric Greener and Sheila Jackson
Eric Greener and Sheila Jackson died following an arson attack at their home on South John Street in St Helens(Image: )
An elderly couple who died after an arson attack on their home were “not the intended victims”, a murder trial has heard. Eric Greener and Sheila Jackson died aged 77 and 83 respectively after a fire at their home on South John Street in St Helens.
Two men and a woman, Kevin Weetman, Lee Owens and Kylie Maynard, went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court today, Wednesday, accused of their murders. However, one of the men who was “responsible for setting fire to the house”, Paul Smith, has also since died.
Owens, aged 46 and of no fixed address, has admitted to his involvement in starting the blaze but “says that he only intended to damage the building”. Weetman, aged 34 and of Croxteth Drive in Aigburth, and 37-year-old Maynard, of Rydal Street in Everton, meanwhile “deny that they had anything to do with the setting of the fire”, having apparently “attempted to trick” Ms Jackson’s son into working from them as drug dealer.
Nigel Power KC told a jury of six men and six women during the prosecution’s opening this morning: “At about just after half past midnight on Tuesday the 15th of July last year, Paul Smith and Lee Owens, set fire to a house, 44 South John Street in St Helens. Inside the address at that time were Mary Sheila Jackson, known to all as Sheila, and her partner Peter Eric Greener, known to everybody as Eric.
“Of course the alarm went up. Firefighters and paramedics went to the scene. They were able to rescue Eric and Sheila from the blaze, but they were unable to recover from the injuries they sustained in the fire and died within days. 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 attempted to trick George Jackson, Sheila’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 a taxing, by some other people.
“He had taken her home, his home being the same as Sheila and Eric. He had allowed her to wash, eat and sleep and stay there. She knew exactly where he lived, and who he lived with.
“A few days later, Mr Weetman gave Mr Jackson half an ounce of cocaine, wholesale worth between £400 and £700, but on an individual wrap basis, because that’s how George Jackson took his drugs, quite a lot more. Initially, Mr Weetman said it was a gift for helping out Ms Maynard.
“But he offered Mr Jackson the chance to deal drugs for him. Mr Jackson declined the offer and thought nothing of it until some time later, when Mr Weetman again contacted him and asked him to work for him.
“And when Mr Jackson declined once more, the mood changed. What had been a gift or reward ceased to be so, and Mr Weetman started asking where his ‘dough’ was for the drugs.
“Whilst there was, on the face of it, no threat made, the crown say that Mr Weetman decided to take action to prevent a loss of face. Face is all important in the drugs world, and he 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 night. Whilst Paul Smith and Lee Owens failed to kill Mr Jackson, the fire they set caused the deaths of Eric and Shelia.
“Paul Smith and Lee Owens were the people responsible for setting fire to the house. What is also not in issue is that Kevin Weetman and Kylie Maynard, together, were involved in dealing drugs.
“Why can we tell you that? First of all, Lee Owens has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Eric and Sheila. The issue in his case is what he intended should happen.
“Why isn’t Paul Smith in the dock? Well, he died shortly after the fire, but no one in the case disputes the prosecution’s case, that he was one of the two people who went on a motorbike to set fire to the house.
“Kevin Weetman and Kylie Maynard have pleaded guilty to conspiring together to supply cocaine between the 27th of November 2024 and the 16th of September 2025, a period that includes the day of the fire. What is in issue is that Lee Owens says that he only intended damage to the building from the fire and nothing else. Kevin Weetman and Kylie Maynard deny that they had anything to do with the setting of the fire and the deaths of Eric and Sheila.”
Weetman, Owens and Maynard all deny murder. The trial, before Mr Justice Jay, continues, and is expected to last up to six weeks.