On April 4th, 2009, Damian Clough, a twelve-year-old boy from Kinara Close, Stockbridge, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, died in a devastating house fire that was later ruled to have been caused by deliberate arson.
Damian was a young boy with multiple special needs, including severe autism, learning difficulties, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and extreme convulsions. His disabilities meant he had particular care requirements and challenges. On the night of the fire, he was asleep in his bedroom and lacked the ability to escape once the blaze began.
On the evening of April 4th, while Damian’s mother was at work, several teenagers entered the Clough family’s rented home in Keighley. Prosecutors later told a court that two separate fires were deliberately started inside the house: one in an armchair in the lounge and one in a laundry basket in the kitchen.
The teenagers had gained access to the property, reportedly after consuming alcohol, and were inside when the fires were lit. The flames produced dense smoke that spread through the home, including into Damian’s bedroom upstairs. Firefighters were called by neighbors who detected smoke, but by the time crews entered the house, it was already severely engulfed and Damian had succumbed to smoke inhalation in his bed. The family’s pet dog was also found dead near his bedroom door.
Police and fire investigators concluded that the blazes were deliberately set. Two young men—a then-eighteen-year-old named Nasir Khan and a seventeen-year-old youth who could not be named due to legal restrictions—were charged with manslaughter and appeared at Bradford Crown Court in 2010.
However, both defendants were acquitted after a trial, with the jury finding that there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that either had started the fire or that they had known Damian was in the house at the time. As a result, no one has ever been convicted in connection with Damian’s death.
In 2014, West Yorkshire Police re-opened the investigation into Damian’s death as new appeals from his father and community members emerged, but as of this writing, the case remains unresolved.
Crime Immemorial 