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
PORTRAITS IN PAKISTAN
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
HOUNDTON TABBY
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
POLAR BEAR STRETCHES
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
FISHERMEN IN MYANMAR BALANCE ON ONE LEG
Fishermen in Myanmar have perfected an unusual fishing technique by carefully balancing on one leg .
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .
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 .
GOING IN FOR THE GILL
NEVER mind being careful not to choke on your food, this mother bird has a bigger challenge on her hands, as her ravenous offspring impatiently launches its head down into her stomach .
MONSTER EX LEFT ME FOR DEAD AND BATTERED ME UNRECOGNISABLE AFTER BRUTAL 10HR ATTACK
Amber Baskerville, 30, started dating Craig Chard, 34, in October 2021 .
HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
MOUSE A-DOR'S SPRING
The sun is finally out, bringing a smile to many people’s faces – including this cute little dormouse’s! Grinning from ear to ear, this tiny dormouse appears to have been tickled by something as it clambered up this flower, basking in the sunshine, whilst having a little laugh to himself .
HUNGRY CHAMELEON CATCHES DINNER
EXPERTLY camouflaged, this clever panther chameleon knows how to catch its prey by surprise .