A heartbroken mum who lost her little girl in a house fire started deliberately by her ex-partner fell from the second floor of a shopping centre in a bid to be reunited with her daughter.
Cherie Rangeley was given the horrific details of 10-year-old Paige Bolton's tragic death at an inquest into the house fire that killed her and dad Gary Bolton.
Assistant Ian Sprakes delivered the inquest's verdict on Monday, saying the blaze had been intentionally set by Gary, who locked himself and his child in the home as it went up in flames.
Both perished in the property on Wensley Avenue, north Hull, in the early hours of early hours of January 25, 2020, Hull Live reports.
Paige’s mum Cherie, 45, had previously spoken of her struggles with alcoholism after her daughter's death.
But she has now revealed she hit a new low shortly after the inquest was adjourned in August last year.
Cherie said: “I jumped from the second floor of St Stephen’s and ended up in a coma for a short while.
“I smashed my hip and knee as a result and I still have to use a wheel chair most of the time.
“I just wanted to be with Paige.
“Luckily, I survived. I know I now need to find a way to move on and stop trying to hurt myself."
Cherie previously told Hull Live of her struggles to deal with what happened.
“I nearly died because of all this as it tipped me over the edge,” she said back in August.
"I turned to drink and ended up in hospital. But I haven’t drank now for around ten months."
Despite the conclusion into the inquest, Cherie has not got the answers she hoped for.
“For Paige it wasn’t suicide, Garry murdered my little girl,” she said.
“There is no closure really. He didn’t have to take my little girl. If you want to kill yourself then fine but he didn’t have to take Paige.
“I feel numb and didn’t really get the answers I was hoping for. I’m not any nearer where I feel I’m supposed to be.
“I would have preferred a conclusion of suicide for Garry and unlawful killing for Paige rather than a narrative verdict.
“But with Garry’s family there too I guess he has to see it from both sides.”
Cherie, who was with Garry for 22 years, also feels there was little said about Paige at the inquest.
She said: “There was nothing really about Paige and how she felt.
“At the end of the day Garry took his own life and that of Paige which he had no right or need to do.
“Paige was cheeky but also shy. But once she got to know you there was no shutting her up!
“I loved her so much and loved buying her things.”
The inquest previously heard how Garry and Cherie had twins Paige and Ethan in 2010 through IVF treatment. Sadly, Ethan died of a heart defect aged just six months, which devastated Garry and Cherie.
Paige’s ashes have now been laid beside Ethan which makes Cherie’s visits to the graveside even more difficult.
“I find it very hard visiting the grave as Paige really looked after Ethan’s headstone,” Cherie said.
“She would clean it every time we went there and would leave toys for Ethan.
“Now she is not there to do it bit, instead, lies next to Ethan."
Mr Sprakes said he believed Garry Bolton had deliberately started the fire, with no logical explanation for the fire having been started accidentally.
Fire crews had to break into the property using a saw and then discovered the two victims lying together in the bathtub.
Garry had locked the front door and made access inside difficult, the inquest heard, and no attempt had been made to contact the emergency services.
Returning a narrative conclusion to the inquest, which started back in August, Mr Sprakes referenced chilling texts sent by Paige to her grandmother before she died saying: "Daddy is scaring me."
Mr Bolton had also written a note expressing self-harm, the inquest heard.
During proceedings in August, Mr Sprakes mentioned text messages Garry had sent to former partner Cherie, which he decided not to read out but said “amounted to a suicide note”.
The inquest had heard how Garry’s mental health seemed to have deteriorated, having already suffered from anxiety, low self-esteem and paranoia.
Independent fire investigator Dr Will Hutchinson carried out an investigation into the blaze and he had also given evidence to the inquest.
He had said it was a smouldering fire which meant it took a number of hours to develop.
He also indicated such a fire would produce lethal levels of carbon monoxide almost immediately, which could take effect in a matter of minutes.
The smoke alarm was also not working, but he could not say for sure whether the fire had been caused accidentally or deliberately.
However, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service station manager Richard Gibson believed the cause was deliberate.
He said: “I believe the ignition was due to an unspecified naked flame.
“As the seat of the fire was in the centre of the bed, it leads me to believe it was deliberate.”
He also indicated such a fire would produce lethal levels of carbon monoxide almost immediately, which could take effect in a matter of minutes.
The smoke alarm was also not working, but he could not say for sure whether the fire had been caused accidentally or deliberately.
However, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service station manager Richard Gibson believed the cause was deliberate.
He said: “I believe the ignition was due to an unspecified naked flame.
“As the seat of the fire was in the centre of the bed, it leads me to believe it was deliberate.”
Mr Sprakes delivered a narrative verdict.
He said: “On January 25. 2020, Garry Bolton and Paige Bolton died at 26 Wensley Avenue in Hull between approximately 5.30am and 7am due to the effects of inhalation of products of combustion and carbon monoxide poisoning due to the effects of a smouldering fire probably deliberately started that morning.”
