The man who set fire to his mother’s house to take revenge on his friend later said to his friend: “You’ll never guess what I did!”
Phillip Humphrey, 41, went to the woman’s home in Rochdale and broke several windows after learning his friend had a ‘little animosity’ towards the woman. He left and returned again, causing damage and disturbing the items inside before entering the house.
He left again and returned a third time with a lighter and set the house on fire. In November last year, a total of ten houses were evacuated in the early morning hours and neighbors were forced to flee.
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Humphrey, of Rochdale, later pleaded guilty to arson and criminal damage and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard Humphrey’s friend contacted police in 2023 to make a complaint about the woman. Their houses leaned on each other and their children played together.
“The complaint went nowhere but at some point the defendant became aware of it [his friend’s] complaint,” prosecutor Laura Broome said.
On November 16 last year, Humphrey, his friend and others were drinking in Rochdale town center before returning to his home. Before Humphrey left, the topic turned to the woman who lived across the street and said she was meeting her niece.
“The defendant was seen on security cameras going out [the victim’s] “At 12.45pm he and another male started throwing objects at the house in Oldham Road,” Ms Groome said. He added that the victim and her children were home at the time.
“She heard the crashing and heard her windows breaking, so she grabbed her children and went to the downstairs bedroom. “They were afraid to leave and the children were in distress,” the prosecutor said.
Humphrey and the man then left and the woman fled with her children. He said that he returned to his friend’s house and ‘opened his windows’ and wanted to show it off.
They both returned home at 2.53am; Meanwhile, Humphrey started punching, kicking and throwing missiles at the door, while the woman took a scooter and threw it towards the already broken window.
He has since pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison in January this year.
They then both entered the front door of the woman’s home and began damaging her belongings, including knocking over her refrigerator.
The court heard Humphrey and the woman left and the woman went to sleep, and Humphrey returned home for a third time but was wearing different clothes.
“He was seen on CCTV entering the property through the front door at 3.45am, five minutes later smoke started coming out of the first floor window,” Ms Groome said.
“Seconds later he was out the front door and climbing over the garden wall.”
‘You’ll never guess what I did’
Neighbors in the house next door heard the commotion and heard a man yelling “Help, help, shoot!” At first they thought the house was being burgled before they heard him shouting.
Then smoke started filling their home and they called the police. It was said that she had to wake up her husband and help him because of his knee problem.
Emergency services arrived immediately and while no one was injured in the fire, neighbors remained outside their homes for several hours.
The house suffered extensive damage to the point where the fire department was unable to locate the exit.
Humphrey returned to his friend’s house and woke him up shouting: “You’ll never guess what I did, Oldham Road is closed… set it on fire… set it on fire!”
He was described as being “smoking drunk” and appeared to be having “some sort of mental breakdown.” The next day, his friend confronted him after seeing media reports about the fire and later tried to frame him to the police. He also told officers he had drunk liters of vodka at the time.
“This scared me and my kids are so scared they can’t sleep,” the victim said in a statement.
“My children keep asking why someone is trying to kill us. I don’t want to leave our hotel and I don’t want to go out; I don’t want to go back to that house. “We could have died.”
Emma Clarke, mitigating, said: “He says this was the biggest mistake of his life and he doesn’t know what caused it. “He wishes to offer his sincere remorse and bitter regret.
“He said that this crime haunted him every day and that he had flashbacks every time he went to bed.
“He told me he felt guilty for feeling that way and that he could only imagine how the family felt if he felt that way.”
Ms Clarke said her client had struggled with alcohol and drug problems, as well as mental health issues, following the loss of his brother. He also said he had ADHD, which was undiagnosed at the time.
Passing sentence, Judge Tina Landale told Humphrey: “The background of all this is a petty feud between your friend and the owner of the house. This property had been her home for a long time and she lived there with her two young children.
“To describe the resulting damage as ‘serious’ is an understatement. Photos show his house was completely destroyed. The neighbor’s house was also damaged in the fire. “This was a revenge attack and more than one person was endangered.”
Humphrey, of Birch Road, was sentenced to five years in prison and will serve half of that time in prison after which he will be released on licence.
‘The fire rendered the facility unusable’
Following sentencing, Detective Constable Russ Clarke, of Rochdale CID, said: “The family living at this property lost everything they owned, including clothing and items of significant sentimental value. The fire devastated the property and left it uninhabitable .
“While this family was there, the windows were broken, causing them serious distress; the owner and the children believed someone was going to break in and harm them. This caused such distress that they decided to leave the property and stay elsewhere for the night. “The people responsible returned.
“Humphrey returned twice more to carry out what can only be described as pre-planned acts of violence, designed for the sole purpose of inflicting terror on the young family.
“Humphrey evaded the police for more than two months before he was finally arrested. During his interview, Humphrey denied starting the fire and attempted to blame others without taking responsibility for his actions. However, when more evidence was gathered, Humphrey acknowledged his full involvement and pleaded guilty.
“The impact on this family has been immeasurable and this is evident in the victim impact statement read out in court. They become homeless and are faced with rebuilding their lives once again. “I hope Humphrey’s conviction provides them with some comfort at what remains a very difficult time for them.”