Elm: 'Fire obsessed' man guilty of Wednesbury pensioner's murder

elm — A man police said was "obsessed with fire" has been found guilty of murder at Wolverhampton Crown Court after a blaze he started outside the Wednesbury home of John and Doreen Edwards left Mr Edwards, 82, with injuries that proved fatal.

Verdict delivered after less than four hours of jury deliberation

Jurors took less than four hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict on one count of murder on Wednesday, and also found 54-year-old Andrew Gorrell guilty of two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, and arson with intent to endanger lives.

Elm in the court record

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the fire was started in a wheelie bin that Gorrell moved to block the front door of the Edwards' house on Holyhead Road in the early hours of 11 May 2025, and that Mr Edwards later died in hospital on 25 May. Prosecutor Rachel Brand KC told the jury Gorrell was captured on CCTV at Wolverhampton Central tram terminus at about 00: 40 GMT and arrived at Wednesbury Parkway just before 01: 00, then loitered outside a care home on Holyhead Road and near a school before moving on to the Edwards' family home.

Three separate bin fires after the house blaze

The court also heard that, in the hours after the house fire, Gorrell admitted three counts of arson for starting additional fires in Wednesbury: a bin near a pub, a commercial waste bin outside a pizza takeaway and a fire in a council waste bin in a nearby street. Mrs Edwards, then 81, and the couple's two adult sons, Carl, 60, and Mark Edwards, 57, were in the home and were injured and taken to hospital.

Movements traced and defence description

After the fire, Gorrell walked to a nearby petrol station and told a member of staff he was stranded and needed to get back to Wolverhampton Rail Station, West Midlands Police said, and he was later arrested at his home in north Wales after officers identified him using facial recognition technology. His defence barrister, Michael Duck KC, told the court Gorrell's actions showed the hallmarks of "chaotic behaviour" by someone who was extremely drunk, while the prosecution said they do not know why he came to the West Midlands that night.

Sentencing date to be set

Gorrell will be sentenced at a later date; the court has not yet set the hearing date. The guilty verdicts conclude the trial phase and leave the next confirmed legal milestone as the upcoming sentencing hearing.