Tiernan Darnton: The Truth or Dare Killer

   Mary Gregory, a 94-year-old woman, was found clinging to life in her burned down and smoke-filled home in Heysham, Lancashire, England.  Mary struggled with dementia, and because of this, along with her age, the police initially thought that the fire was accidental. They assumed that Mary likely caused the fire and was unable to make it out in time. 

   Sadly, that was not the case.

   Mary had a step grandson, Tiernan Darnton. His father left him during his early childhood, but Mary's son Chris took over the fatherly role in Tiernan's life. Although Tiernan got along well with his mom and stepdad Chris for the most part, he began struggling with severe anxiety and depression.  It got to the point to where as a teenage boy, he didn't want to have friends and eventually, he stopped going to school.

   His parents began homeschooling him but being indoors 24/7 only made his depression grow worse. His mom took him to see a psychiatrist, and he was prescribed anti-depressants and anxiety medication. However, this didn't seem to help as he began treating his parents horribly, and eventually, when he was seventeen, his mother kicked him out of the house. 

   That was when the 94-year-old victim opened up her home to Tiernan. She invited him to live with her, but she made it very clear that the arrangement was only temporary. Since he was seventeen and entering adulthood, Mary treated him like an adult. But Mary didn't trust Tiernan, and she told some of her relatives that she despised him and wanted him away from her. They brushed it off as her being paranoid with her dementia.

   On May 28, 2018, Mary's two sons, Chris and Peter, received the horrifying news that Mary had been in a housefire, and was found curled up under a table barely alive with burn marks all over her body, including on the inside of her mouth. She was taken to the hospital, where she would unfortunately pass away only four days later. 

   

   Just a couple of weeks later, Tiernan was hanging out with some of his friends when they decided to play truth or dare. When it was Tiernan's turn, he was asked what his darkest secret was. That was when he confessed wo what he did to his grandmother for the first time.

 

   He told them that he blocked off all of the exits to ensure that Mary couldn't escape, and then set fire to her curtains. He then walked outside and smoked a cigarette, while watching the house burn, and listening to Mary's screams. 

   His friends didn't believe him, though, so they didn't report him. But in 2019, Tiernan was transferred to an adult psychology clinic and was given a new therapist. During his first appointment with her, he told her that he felt powerful in a situation that resulted in someone's death. At the end of the appointment, she said to him "I'm not really clear what you're saying, but I think you're trying to tell me you've killed someone."  Tiernan looked at her, and silently mouthed "Yes."

   She waited until their next session to contact police, to try to get more information. Tiernan decided to bring his stepdad Chris to the appointment and confessed everything to Chris and his therapist. He claimed it was an act of mercy, since Mary suffered from dementia. He also told them about some of the fights he had been in with Mary, and claimed that the day of the fire, she told him that she despised him and that his presence annoyed her. That was when Tiernan disconnected her phone, dismantled all of the smoke alarms, blocked the exits and set fire to the home. 

 

   After the appointment he was arrested, and he immediately changed his story. He even accused his therapist of lying about his confession. But when the detectives searched his room, they found his diary, which contained a hit list, and a very detailed drawn-out map of Mary's home. He had labeled every exit in the home, as well as where Ms. Gregory kept her money and valuable items. Next to the map, he even wrote himself a reminder to have a good alibi. They also found that after the fire, Tiernan had searched things like "I have the urge to kill again" and "I think I'm turning into a serial killer."  

   

   A can of coke was found in Mary's home, along with some little cake wrappers. Tiernan was spotted on CCTV footage purchasing these just hours before the fire. With all of this undeniable evidence, Tiernan was sentenced to life in prison.