In October, 2004, on the ninth anniversary of the death of a family after petrol was poured through their letter-box and set alight, South Wales police re-issued an appeal for information. In the house fire, on the Guernos Estate in Merthyr, on Wednesday, October 11th, 1995, a young mother, Diane Jones, died trying to save her two daughters, Shauna, two, and Sarah Jane, 13 months.
During the initial investigation three local women were arrested. Two of them were cleared of murder but convicted of arson with intent to endanger life. One was sentenced to 20 years, the other to 13 years.
The third woman was convicted of perverting the course of justice and jailed for four years, reduced to three and a half years on appeal.
But in 1999, the Appeal Court freed the two imprisoned women after ruling there was insufficient evidence against them.
Now, leading the re-investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Layton Benetta said: We want to determine what really happened on that tragic night. There have been anonymous calls to Crimestoppers, and people claiming to know something about this case have also received anonymous letters.
There are people out there who may have information that is crucial to this inquiry. We appeal to them to come forward now.