A young mother has told of her terrifying experience of her ex-partner plotting to set fire to her house while she and her two children – including his daughter – were asleep inside the house.
The horrific incident came just days after 26-year-old Corey Evans set his car on fire outside his home, causing a blaze so large it damaged another car, shattered windows in the home and left his children covered in black soot.
Chloe Wallis has bravely spoken publicly about the horrors she faced and criticised social services for failing to intervene when her children were at risk. The local authority, which is responsible for social services, insists it is confident the family is receiving comprehensive and appropriate support from a range of key agencies, including offers of temporary accommodation.
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Chloe, 24, from Bridgend, says she reported the first incident to social services but had no choice but to return home before the second, more dangerous incident took place. She told Wales Online: “I really felt he was trying to kill me and my children. I didn’t think social services, who are supposed to be there for the children, would care if they died.”
Speaking about her relationship with Evans, Chloe explained that at first he seemed like an “attractive” man but she never thought he’d be capable of such evil acts. She added, “We met at a get-together with mutual friends in 2020. He was all in from the get-together and promised me great things. I think we started dating within a month of dating. I couldn’t find any fault with him from the start,” Wales Online reported.
Khloe revealed that the pair seemed happy in their relationship until she found out she was pregnant in May 2021. It was around that time, she said, that Evans began to show a threatening side during arguments.
She said: “He was never physically violent but he would threaten me during arguments, saying things like, ‘You’ll have to sleep with one eye open tonight’ or ‘I know where you live’.”
She believed the change in her husband’s behaviour was linked to a desire for control, saying: “It started as soon as I became pregnant. I think it was all about control. He thought that if we had a child, he would own it and through that he could control me.”
Chloe claimed that despite her efforts to end her relationship with Evans, his threats extended to her family, instilling fear and making it difficult for her to leave. She described how she felt trapped, wanting to escape but scared.
She said: “I was in a shelter for several months from around October 2021 while I was pregnant. [because of Evans’ behaviour]I truly believed it would be easier to stay with him than to break up with him because I was scared of what would happen to me and the kids if we broke up. He promised me great things. I was young at the time and didn’t really know what else to do in that situation. He promised me this perfect family and I wanted to believe it.”
Khloe said the turning point came in April 2022, three months after giving birth to Evans’ child. She decided to end the relationship for good, but despite that, the harassment didn’t stop, Khloe said.
She recounted how Evans tried to re-enter her life and how his anger when he found out she had found a new partner escalated into further threats, including smashing windows.
“Despite the threats, I really didn’t think he would do something like that because I have his daughter,” she added. “I knew he loved her and wouldn’t do anything to hurt her or upset her, so I thought we were safe.”
On April 2, 2023, Evans allegedly set fire to a car outside Chloe’s home, which is owned by her new partner. She described the experience: “It happened at 1:20am and we were woken up by a loud noise. The flames were as big as my house and so close they broke the windows. We didn’t go outside afterwards but it was traumatising for us and our children.”
Following the horrific incident, Chloe and her partner stayed in a hotel, paying for their own accommodation, and despite reporting the incident to the police and social services, Chloe claims she was told social services could not intervene.
Feeling left with no other choice, Chloe returned home the following night, explaining the precautions they took: “The night we got home we moved all our belongings to the middle of the living room because we thought the windows were going to be smashed.”
“We all slept in the back bedroom because we thought that would be the safest place if we ever needed to escape.”
Unbeknownst to the family, Evans was planning another arson attack that night, targeting the house itself. A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Tuesday revealed that on April 5, 2023, three days after the first attack, Evans persuaded three other irresponsible individuals to carry out his evil plan.
The sentence revealed a terrifying tale surrounding drug-addicted couple Karl Rowe, 42, and Daniel Lewis Rowe, 38, who had been paid cocaine by Evans in return for their involvement. Other participants included Evans’ associate Paul James, 40. Rowe was the driver and drove his wife and James to Chloe’s residence, stopping off on the way to source jerry cans and accelerants.
When he arrived home in the middle of the night, James got out of his car with a can of gasoline in hand. Security camera footage showed him stopping briefly at the security lights, only to return 30 minutes later and pour gasoline into the mailbox.
Judge Eugene Egan spoke of the “life-saving events” that followed which prevented James from igniting the petrol. He praised the stroke of luck which gave the family a “narrow escape”, saying James would have otherwise set the petrol on fire within minutes.
Recalling the terrifying moments, Chloe said: “Our older daughter was still traumatised from the previous incident and would not calm down, so my partner took her into the bedroom and tried to calm her down. He then heard what sounded like liquid coming from the letterbox. He looked and saw someone had poured petrol down the letterbox.”
Chloe recounted the terrifying experience when her partner startled James by banging on the window and shouting “hey”. She said: [James] had [succeeded the first time] My house would have burned down. I was so lucky that my daughter was awake when he came back the second time.”
Chloe explained that her family was terrified and the atmosphere at home became unbearable: “We were screaming and we didn’t know if my husband was still outside trying to start a fire,” she continued.
After calling emergency services, Chloe and her family fled through the back door. During a subsequent police interview, the court heard Evans ” [him] “Commit murder”
Despite reporting the incident to authorities and social services being informed that children were involved, Chloe claims she received no help and was forced to live in a hotel for several weeks at her own expense.
“We got no help from social services whatsoever. They asked me and the children to stay in that house. I booked hotels all over. We stayed in Travelodges, Holiday Inns, Premier Inns – all at our own expense. We went wherever we could until someone would let us stay over Easter,” Chloe alleged.
“We paid enough [around two weeks] I lived in hotels until I ran out of money, then stayed with a friend for a few weeks. [social services] I pleaded with them saying I didn’t have the money, my kids went to school outside the area, and I didn’t drive at this time.”
Chloe claims the city’s housing department eventually provided her with temporary housing for a few weeks before Evans was arrested, released on bail and taken into custody.
She said she remained worried because Mr Evans continued to contact her and her family despite his arrest and she felt social services had completely let her down.
“Social Services have totally failed me, but especially my children,” she alleged. “I don’t know why they didn’t want to get involved. We wore black to court and my mother said she wished she had worn the same clothes to my funeral and my children’s. They have really done a terrible job. During the trial I had to put my children with other family members because I was being threatened but they still haven’t helped me. I am a young woman with two small children and there is only so much I can do. I cannot afford to put me and my children in a hotel. My family and I have done the work of Social Services on their behalf.”
Ms Cho spoke of the devastating impact of the actions of Evans and his accomplices, and the inadequate response from social services, which worsened her mental state and led to her being diagnosed with PTSD. She spoke of her ongoing fears: “The stress of begging social services for help has affected my mental state. I feel a total failure for my children. I jump when I hear loud noises and I can’t shower alone. When I’m at home I’m terrified that someone will try to hurt me. I’ve been on medication for a year now but there’s not much they can do. I need special counselling but I’m still waiting.”
After the trial concluded, Chloe acknowledged that she had received help from social services, and expressed both relief and frustration that it had been delayed: “They are now taking action as they should have taken when I was in immediate danger. I am still at risk, but we have come a long way since then. All I wanted back then was help for my children.”
In response, a council spokesman expressed sympathy for the ordeal of Wallis and her family, and said they hoped the guilty verdict of her assailant would provide some comfort. The spokesman clarified the council’s position, saying: “Ms Wallis and her family have been through a terrifying experience and we hope they can all find some relief that the assailant has been brought to justice. While we cannot discuss specific details on confidential matters, the council is satisfied that a range of lead agencies have provided extensive and appropriate support to the family, including the provision of temporary accommodation.”
“Ms Wallis has stated that she is happy with the level of support she is receiving from social workers and we would be happy to meet with her to discuss and clarify this matter in more detail.”
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