By Philip Dewey

Copyright walesonline

A young mother and her two precious children were brutally killed in a heartless and cowardly murder after the home they shared was set alight. Thirty years after their deaths, their killers are yet to be brought to justice. This weekend, a forensic review of the case has been announced , in the hope that the families of the victims will have answers to the questions that have plagued them for decades about the deaths of an innocent woman and children. Here is the full story surrounding the murders of Dianne Jones, Shauna Hibberd and Sarah-Jane Hibberd. F or the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter . On the night of October 11, 1995, petrol was pumped through the door of a house on the Gurnos estate in Merthyr Tydfil where 21-year-old Diane Jones lived with her two baby daughters, Shauna, two, and Sarah-Jane, 13-months. A match was lit and thrown through the letterbox, engulfing the house in flames. The mother and her children were killed in the fire and their killers have never been brought to justice. Local women Donna Clarke and Annette Hewins were found guilty of arson with intent to endanger life and jailed for 20 years and 13 years respectively, but their convictions were quashed at the court of appeal in 1999 and they were both acquitted. Hewins died in 2017 at the age of 51. Diane’s father Johnny took his own life in 2003 at the age of 52, and her mother Diane died with cancer in 2016. Her sister Mary suffered nightmares, flashbacks and visions for years after witnessing the fire which killed her sister and nieces, when she was just 18-years-old. She also had to deal with the tragic death of her partner Wayne. Speaking in 2022, the mother-of-three said: “I remember it like it was yesterday. I still see the flames when I close my eyes. I collapsed, I was only 18, just turned 18. My mother collapsed. It is still fresh in my mind. “I could never return to that flat. I never lived there again. I was homeless for a couple of months afterwards. “I have suffered nightmares, flashbacks, I was put on medication because every time I shut my eyes again and again I’d see visions of the flames. Then I’d see visions of my dad, and holding my mum’s hand when she died. Then of finding my partner dead in the bed. It just goes on and on. “What happened to Diane and the babies didn’t just take them away from us so cruelly, it took half my family as well. I know my father would still be here today if that match wasn’t thrown into Diane’s house.” Diane’s home in Marigold Close was opposite Mary’s flat. They usually spent every day together before Diane died, Mary said, and would often take the ten-minute walk to Goitre Lane where Myra and Jonny lived. “They were lovely times,” Mary remembered. “When I think back to those times I remember how much Diane lived for those kids. They were her world. She’d come to me or I’d go to her and we’d look after them together, and then we’d pop round to mum and dad who idolised them. “I think about that image all the time. My eldest daughter Amy is just nine months older than Shauna, so I often wonder how close they’d be. I wonder how different life would be.” Mary said she has spent years trying to comprehend “how someone could be so cruel”. “Why would you want to rip a family apart, why would you be so cruel to take them away from us,” she said. “Diane didn’t bother anyone. She was a funny and popular young girl, a well-known and bubbly character. I don’t remember her having rows with anyone, and she didn’t have enemies. Speak to anyone in this community and they would tell you the same.” Shaun Hibberd, father of Shauna and Sarah Jane, was serving a prison sentence when he found out about the death of his partner and daughters. Speaking in 2013, he said: “My cell door opened at 6am and the governor came with the police and a prison officer. “My cellmate was taken into the corridor and they told me what had happened. I couldn’t believe it – it broke my heart. “When the police told me later that the fire was suspicious, I couldn’t handle it. I ended up in the prison hospital.” Hibberd was allowed to attend the funerals of Diane and their children at Pant Cemetery in Merthyr Tydfil, but remained handcuffed to a prison officer throughout, even as he kissed the coffins of his babies. “It never goes away, it’s just like yesterday,” he said. Mr Hibberd added: “Diane had been with me for five years and we had two beautiful children. “I miss my children and I’ll never forget them. There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think about them.” The small council house at Marigold Close has long been demolished, replaced by a plaque which reads: “You are not alone. We are here with you. Though we are far apart, you will always be in our hearts.” Three decades after the deaths of Diane, Shauna and Sarah-Jane, South Wales Police has confirmed the force will begin a forensic review of the murders. The force’s major crime review unit said it is hoping that advances in forensic technology will provide the break through needed to identify who was responsible. Detective chief inspector Gareth Davies said: “At the time this tragic case which claimed the innocent lives of a mother and her two children sent shockwaves through Gurnos and has cast a shadow over the community ever since. “Diane’s family have been left without answers for decades and have suffered immeasurably as a result. “Officers re-examining this case are hopeful that new forensic technology and techniques which were not available previously will present opportunities to progress the investigation. “Our hope is that we can uncover new evidence which will give us the breakthrough we need to find who was responsible.” DCI Davies made a plea to anyone who feels they might be able to assist in the investigation to come forward. He said he is confident someone must know something. “I am quite confident that somebody out there has information which for whatever reason they decided at the time to keep to themselves,” he said. “Three decades have passed – that person may have different allegiances or may find themselves in different circumstances today. “My message to them is that it is never too late to come forward – now is the time to offload what no doubt has weighed very heavily for many years. “It is time that whoever was responsible for the deaths of Diane, Shauna, and Sarah-Jane, are identified and put before the courts.” In a statement Mary added: “On October 11, 1995, my heart and my life got shattered into a million pieces. “It has been 30 years but as a family we are still living this nightmare as if it only happened yesterday. “We didn’t just lose a sister and our nieces – we also lost our parents. It absolutely broke their hearts and they were never the same. “My father, John, took his own life in 2003 aged 52 – he couldn’t live without them. “My mother, Myra, after losing her daughter, granddaughters, and her husband, stood strong to fight for justice but unfortunately she got diagnosed with cancer and suddenly passed away at the age of 62. “My mother used to say: ‘I hope I get to see justice before I go’ but they never got to see justice. “I’m hoping there is somebody out there who is holding the key to what happened and that they have it in their hearts to come forward and finally give us the answers that we need. “If anyone has information my message to them is please, do the right thing – come forward so my sister can finally rest with her babies. “As a family we will never give up fighting for justice. “My mam and dad didn’t get to see justice but I’m hoping I will for them.” Anybody with information can contact South Wales Police quoting 2200348104. 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