Man confessed murdering grandmother while playing truth or dare

A man who killed his step-grandmother in a house fire has been sentenced to life in prison. Mary Gregory, 94, died of steam inhalation after a fire at her home in Heysham, Lancashire, in 2018.

Her death was treated as an accident until Tiernan Darnton, 21, who confessed or dared to commit murder in a game of truth, made a similar confession during counselling in 2019.

Darnton was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 15 years. He had denied murder but was convicted by a jury on Thursday after a nine-day trial.

In sentencing, the judge told Darnton: "The murder has been on your mind for some time." Ms Justice Yip said he was "fascinated by serial killers and their crimes" and "had dark thoughts."

She said Internet searches before and after the murder "paints a disturbing picture".

The Preston Crown Court has heard that an initial investigation revealed that Mrs Gregory, a heavy smoker and had dementia, was killed in an accidental fire on 28 May 2018.

However, police opened the case in May 2019 after Darnton told a counsellor that he murdered his stepfather's mother by using a lighter to set fire to a curtain in the house on Levens Drive.

[caption id="attachment_38806" align="aligncenter" width="558"] Mrs Gregory died in hospital four days after being pulled from the fire at her home in Heysham[/caption]

The court heard that Darnton confessed even a few weeks after Mrs Gregory's death, during a game of truth or daring with two friends, in which he revealed his "darkest secret".

The court heard that Darnton had said he blocked a fire alarm and started the fire because he did not want Ms Gregory to suffer more from dementia.

The jury was shown detailed drawings found in Darnton's home, which outlined the floor plan of his stepmother's home.

They include labels including "well-hidden space" and "quick exit" and references to needing a "good alibi".

Detectives have been searching since June 2018 on his cell phone and computer, which reads "murderers full of despair" and "I'm a monster, and I'm going to hell.

Victoria Agulló, the senior crown prosecutor at CPS, said Darnton deliberately started the fire in her stepmother's house and then "took steps to prevent her from calling for help and escaping".

"I can not begin to imagine the devastation that the family caused, losing their beloved family in this way," she said.