SIMON CHILDS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDER OF HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW IN WEST MALLING

Simon Childs, aged 52, has been sentenced to life imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court for the murder of Jackie Allen, his mother-in-law, following a fire at their residence on Spitfire Road, West Malling, Kent. The court was told that Childs was characterized as a "jealous and obsessive" individual after his marriage ended. He was found guilty of intentionally setting the fire using petrol, fully aware that Jacqueline Allen and another person were inside the home. The fatal incident occurred in November, and court proceedings revealed that Childs had previously threatened to set the house alight and had sent numerous abusive messages before the fire. Kent Police's Detective Chief Inspector Patrick Milford commented, "Childs's actions were callous and calculated. He broke into the property knowing that Jacqueline Allen and another person were inside before starting a devastating fire." The case has been classified as a domestic homicide.