DAD SET ME AND MUM ON FIRE - MUM WAS BURNT 65% OF HER BODY AND DIED TWO YEARS LATER ON MY 21ST BIRTHDAY

Amanda Bohm, 22, and her mum, Janet, 58, were the best of friends. But she wasn’t close to her dad, Carl, 68. He had a drinking problem which made him violent. One day, when Amanda was 9, she witnessed her father follow her mum with a hammer and threaten to hurt her. When she reached her teens, he made death threats against her mum. Janet tried to file a protection order against her husband, but it was denied. On February 25th, 2019, on the day Janet was planning to hand in paperwork finalising her divorce, Carl cornered her in the garage which he’d soaked in petrol. Amanda disturbed them and wrestled with her dad for the lighter. But he managed to flick the flint and they all went up in flames. Amanda suffered third degree burns to her ankles, while her mum suffered third degree burns to 65% of her body. Janet underwent over 70 operations where skin grafts were performed. She barely survived. Two years later, on Amanda’s 21st birthday in October 2021, Janet succumbed to her injuries. Three months later, Carl Bohm finally pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree assault and arson. But a week later he died before he was sentenced.

Other great stories
FIRST SHOES, FIRST STEPS FOR MENINGITIS TOT

Oday she is a picture of health - a happy, smiling child, enjoying life to the full .

SLEEP DISORDER WOMAN COLLAPSES EVERY TIME SHE LAUGHS

A woman with a rare condition that means she collapses every time she laughs fears she may have passed the rare illness onto her young son .

THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORT

Those with a fear of flying and a ticket to Lukla Airport will want to look away now .

DOTING SEAL TICKLES HER PUP

A doting seal smiles at her sweet little pup as she tickles its tummy on the beach .

OWNER REUNITED WITH PETLOG CAT AFTER KEEPERS HAND HIM BACK

A family who were refused the location of their missing cat under the Data Protection Act have been reunited with their moggie after the keepers handed him back .

VISOR FASHION FAIL

FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .

CAVE ROOM HOTEL

THIS unique holiday accommodation allows you to enjoy a full Flintstones experience .

ADORABLE STOAT HUNTS IN THE SNOW

DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .

LIVING ON WATER: REFUGEES BUILD A LIFE AT SEA

SAILING over crystal clear waters, the Bajau people of Malaysia live their lives almost entirely at SEA .

HMS ARK ROYAL ARRIVES AT SHIP GRAVEYARD- LANGUISHING

HMS Ark Royal arrives in the Turkish port of Aliaga at the ship scrapping firm Leyal’s yard .

BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS BROUGHT TO LIFE

BREATHING life back into old photographs, these black and white images are transformed by colour .

MY 20 YEAR SECRET - IT'S NOT ALOPECIA OR CANCER, I HAVE TRICHOTILLOMANIA

A mum who has hid behind the hair loss condition alopecia for the last 20 years has bravely revealed a secret compulsion to tear out her own hair that has tormented her since she was a child .