Wife who had mother-in-law petrol bombed for saying she ‘wasn’t good enough’ for her son is jailed

Friday, July 05, 2024 - A woman who had her mother-in-law’s car petrol-bombed for saying she “wasn’t good enough” to marry her son has been jailed.

Alisha Anwar, 29, paid a friend £150 to carry out the revenge attack in Wrexham in June 2022 after falling out with Christine Place, 54, in the lead-up to her wedding.

Mold Crown Court heard Mrs Place walked out of her home to find the vehicle ablaze, with neighbours describing how it had “exploded” and engulfed two other cars. Some had to be evacuated while firefighters battled the blaze.

Anwar, of Wrexham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and was jailed for 16 months.

She was also given a two-year restraining order barring any contact with her mother-in-law.

Her friend Luke Williams, also of Wrexham, who carried out the attack, pleaded guilty to the same offence and will be sentenced next week.

The court heard the pair were reported to police by Williams’s girlfriend.

CCTV footage showed him filling up a petrol can the day before the attack.

Mark Connor, defending Anwar, told the court: "It was a revenge offence.

"For a long time, she was not able to come to terms with what she had done, such was her fear of the consequences despite the weight of evidence against her.

“But she eventually made the right decision. She is now able to make proper and rational decisions.”

Judge Niclas Parry told her: "The inherent dangerousness makes any arson a very serious offence.

"The courts can’t ignore the need to reflect in sentences the grave consequences that can flow from fires.

"The facts of this case are close to being staggering. This was all about revenge and spite in a domestic context.

"You were determined to seek vengeance on your mother-in-law and offered to pay your co-defendant £150 to petrol-bomb or blow it up.

“You orchestrated this conspiracy, and you’re as responsible for the acts of each other in a conspiracy as your own.”