Gorton man jailed for life after setting mum on fire

Mark See lit a milk carton containing lawnmower petrol in his mother's front room

Author: By Kim Pilling, PA Published 25th Feb 2022

A man who set his 63-year-old mother on fire in a drunken temper after she refused to give him cash to buy more alcohol has been jailed for life.

Sandra See's living room erupted into flames after Mark See, 34, lit a milk carton containing lawnmower petrol with a cigarette lighter.

See then drove off from the scene in Gorton, Manchester, in the early hours of July 13 last year. He was found hours later huddled in a field three miles away.

The defendant's pregnant girlfriend escaped and raised the alarm but by the time fire crews arrived five minutes later, the blaze had spread through the ground floor of the property in Darras Road.

Ms See's incinerated remains were found on the living room floor, with the extent of her injuries so severe she had to be identified from a metal plate on her thigh bone.

On Friday, her son was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court and told he must serve a minimum of 21 years before he can be considered for parole.

He had denied murder but earlier this month a jury convicted him of the offence.

"A truly horrifying way to die"

Mrs Justice Yip told him: "The evidence suggests that your mother got up from her seat and tried to move towards the door but that she fell. Whether she did that before you lit the petrol, realising what was happening, or after the ignition is not clear.

"Either way, she must have experienced the horror of recognising that she was trapped in a burning room.

"The fire started near to the doorway. She, a woman with limited mobility, was on the other side of the room. Death was not instantaneous. You described hearing your mother's screams.

"She was engulfed in flames and suffered the most awful burns before succumbing. That was a truly horrifying way to die.

"You saved yourself by leaving the bungalow. A neighbour heard you say to Natalie (his partner) 'F*** it, she's dead. Let's go'. You got in your van and drove off."

Following sentencing, Anthony Stanway, senior crown prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Mark See's unbalanced reaction to a petty argument was to set fire to his own mother in this most horrific of cases.

"He denied he intended to kill her and that he only threw the petrol and had a lighter in his hand to shock her following their argument.

"However we presented evidence to the jury which discounted his version of events and the jury agreed with the prosecution case that he did in fact intend to kill his mother or at the very least he intended to cause her really serious harm."

Senior investigating officer Phil Reade, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "This was a truly devastating case where See's remorseless actions cost his mother's life.

"Our thoughts are with Ms See's family, who are still coming to terms with what happened. Throughout the trial they have sat with dignity whilst listening to the evidence of how their mother met her horrific death before the jury returned a guilty verdict."

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