Julie Trahearn was 54 and had not accepted the end of her relationship, which ended in November 2022.
Resentment first led her to harass him. A West Midlands court convicted and imprisoned her for stalking her ex. Even so, during that time she found out the address of his new partner in Leeds Road, Lofthouse, Wakefield. Before the attack, the couple were already living in fear: she had sent them a barrage of threatening emails and letters.
In the early hours of July 11, 2023, she recruited a driver and traveled more than 160 kilometers from Birmingham. She was carrying rubber gloves and flammable liquid in plastic bottles. To evade automatic number-plate recognition cameras, they covered one letter on the car’s number plate with tape, turning a P into an R. According to published reports, she used the liquid to set fire to the couple’s vehicle and the house as well; the Yorkshire Evening Post headline says it happened while her ex was asleep.
Judge Anesh Pema was unequivocal: “She carefully planned her actions that day. It was clearly an act of revenge”. Trahearn was found guilty of two counts of arson with intent to endanger life and received an extended sentence of almost nine years at Leeds Crown Court. The driver was also found guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
