Men jailed for £15 debt murders

Sheehan and Philip were each convicted of two counts of murder

Two men found guilty of starting a fire that killed a 17-year-old girl and her grandmother in London have been jailed for life, with a minimum of 25 years.

Jake Sheehan, 20, of Bethnal Green, and David Philip, 19, from Bow, had denied murdering the pair over a £15 debt.

Shannen Vickers and Pauline Adams, 57, were asleep when petrol was poured through the letterbox of their flat in Mile End in February and set alight.

Sheehan and Philip were convicted of two counts of murder at the Old Bailey.

The flat on the fifth floor of Malmesbury House in Cyprus Street, Bethnal Green, was set alight after the pair had a row with Mrs Adams' grandson, who also lived there, over the debt.

At the end of the row Philip shouted "we are going to burn your house down". He went on to carry out his threat but only Shannen and her grandmother were in the flat at the time.

They were both overcome by the smoke and the fumes and they died together, lying side by side Simon Denison QC, prosecuting

They died as a result of smoke inhalation, post-mortem tests found. Their pet cat and dog also died.

Prosecutor Simon Denison QC said: "Pauline Adams and Shannen Vickers would have been asleep when the fire was set.

"They both woke up. Pauline went to Shannen's bedroom.

"Shannen was heard screaming for just a few seconds but she was not heard again.

"They were both overcome by the smoke and the fumes and they died together, lying side by side - two completely innocent people killed over a £15 debt and not losing face."

Judge Richard Hawkins said the two men were taking revenge for losing "street credibility".

He said the defendants' "horrifying" crime had "struck at the heart" of Nicola Vickers, who lost both her mother and only child.

Nicola had been warned of the threat earlier but had said, "don't worry, no one could be so cruel," the Old Bailey heard.

"She had faith in the power of human nature. She was right. Such an act was a cruel act indeed," the judge said.

Shannen's mother said in a family impact statement: "I cannot express in writing the pain of losing my daughter, she was my life."

She said Shannen, who she described as her "baby", was a "typical teenager who loved life" and had just passed all her exams for her business studies course at Epping College.

"Shannen was determined, hard-working, independent and caring, and I know she would have grown into a well-rounded young woman," she said.

Her mother, she added, was a "true Cockney lady" and "the life and soul of all our family".

During the trial, both defendants tried to blame each other for starting the fire but the jury rejected their stories.