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
MOST DANGEROUS ROAD IN THE WORLD
AT 4,800 metres high and just three metres wide, this is the most dangerous road in the world .
THE GREAT ESCAPE
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
HOURS FROM DEATH: TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME NEARLY KILLED ME AFTER LEAVING TAMPON IN FOR FIVE DAYS
A mother-of-one has told how she nearly died after contracting toxic shock syndrome from a tampon .
AMAZING LIGHTNING PHOTOGRAPHY
STRIKING photos capture nature at its most raw and powerful during Earth’s most electrifying event .
STORM CHASER PHOTOGRAPHS STUNNING EXTREME WEATHER
These photographs of extreme weather capture storms furiously rolling across the sky above America .
ASTOUNDING ASTRONOMICAL IMAGES TAKEN IN GARDEN
AN ARRAY of colours, from pinks to blues and oranges, fill the night sky to create an amazing collection of interstellar patterns .
WORLD'S FIRST SIGN LANGUAGE RESTAURANT
A world's first restaurant has opened in Canada, where having your order fall on deaf ears is a good thing .
BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
CARE WORKER WHO BROKE SPINE IN ‘SHINING’ SEX ATTACK CALLS FOR TOUGHER SAFETY MEASURES
A care worker who broke her spine after jumping from a window to escape a sex attack at the hands of a resident has called for tougher safety measures to protect care staff .
IN FLIGHT MEAL
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .
FIGHTING BLACKBACK GORILLAS
FISTS fly as two gorillas take each other on in a dramatic battle .
LAZY LEOPARD
Sprawled out on top of a log, this sleeping leopard takes a relaxing break from his daily routine .