Abusive son threatened to kill his mother and burn down family home

An abusive son has been jailed for the coercive control of his own mother.

Over a period of four months Jordan Bourne was said to have assaulted her, threatened to kill her and burn down the family home in Preston because she wouldn't let him live with her.

And the city's Crown Court was told he even threatened to take his own life in an attempt to frighten his mum into giving in.

Bourne, of Watling Street Road, Ribbleton, was sent to jail for two years and three months after what a judge called a "heartbreaking account" of cruelty and intimidation.

In an emotional victim impact statement read out in court the mother told the judge she felt she had failed as a parent because of what he subjected her to.

"I do want a relationship with my son, but I can't have this," she said. "I don't want to be fearful and afraid. I am scared of how he will act."

The court heard Bourne had served a 27-month jail sentence for similar offences committed against his mother and grandfather in in November 2023. In that case he threatened to slit their throats if they didn't withdraw statements they had made to police.

Barrister Adam Quine, prosecuting, said he had a history of abusive behaviour towards his mum. When he was released from prison in September 2024 she allowed him to move back into her home.

But the relationship deteriorated and by the following year he had become verbally abusive towards her again and also towards her husband.

At one point police were called and he was taken to his girlfriend's home where he lived until April 2026 when the relationship ended following another angry outburst.

The girlfriend dumped his bags outside his mother's home and that sparked an angry confrontation because his mum refused to allow him to stay.

Instead she booked him into a local Travelodge and drove him there. In the car he threatened: "I'll kill you and I'll kill myself." She feared he would carry out the threats because she knew he often carried a knife.

Then, as he got out of the vehicle, he told him mum: "If you leave me here I'll come to your house and burn it down and you're dead." She told him it was only for one night, but he reacted by striking her twice with an e-cigarette. He also damaged her car in a fit of temper.

She left him there and, as she was driving back home, he contacted her to say there was no booking for him at the hotel. When she spoke to staff they told her they wouldn't give him a room because he was threatening to kill himself.

He then screamed at her: "Get back here you f***ing bitch, get back here and get it sorted." He went on to send a series of abusive messages and voicemails and sent her distressing images and videos of self-harm.

At that point she reported him to the police fearing he was on his way back to her house. She told them she was too scared to return home because she thought he would kill her and burn the house down. Mr Quine said Bourne's behaviour had caused his mother "serious distress."

In her victim impact statement the mother said her relationship with her so had broken down as a result of his behaviour.

"I feel I have failed as a mother, and I was wrong to call the police and put him in this position. But I can't live in fear anymore.

"I want to get him the help he needs. I worry about where he will end up, will he be OK?

"I just want him to treat me like a mum and not take all his anger out on me.

"Reporting him has been incredibly painful for me. He is still my son, but I don't want him on the streets. I can't see him on the streets, but I can't have him at my house.

"He can't continue treating people the way he has. I hope he is able to accept the help that he needs."

Mr Quine said the mother had refused to apply for a restraining order against her son.

Defence barrister Kimberley Obrusik told the court: "It is a very sad case and a very sad situation for him and his mother." She said the underlying factor behind Bourne's behaviour was mental health issues.

"He describes himself as two different people and his mother says he is two very different people – when he is on his medication and when he's not."

She said he had told her that he just wanted help, whether that was in prison or not. "He says he doesn't really mind, he just wants help. He is desperate for help now. He is deeply ashamed to find himself here (in court) having done this – that he caused his mother such pain.

"He didn't intend to intimidate his mother, he wasn't thinking of the impact on her. There was no anger aimed at his mother. He is at real risk of losing a relationship with the one person who has been there for him."

Recorder Harriet Johnson said Bourne, a qualified mechanical engineer, had pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal damage to his mother’s car when he first appeared before Preston Magistrates last month.

But he denied assaulting her, making threats to burn down her house and engaging in coercive controlling behaviour. He was found guilty after a trial in the lower court and sent to Crown Court for sentence.

She told Bourne that when he had been released from his previous prison sentence in 2024 his mother had “believed, or hoped, you had learned your lesson”.

But after his former partner left his belongings outside her house after the break-up of their relationship, he had become aggressive and “inexplicably turned on your mother”.

“She believed you would harm her and you were carrying a knife. You struck her car (outside the hotel) and left a dent in it. She was too frightened to return to her own home.

“You sent your mother a photograph of self-harm. Over a period of four-and-a-half months you used threats of violence, threats to kill and harm yourself in order to frighten your mother into doing what you wanted.

“You have offended against your mother before. He victim personal statement is a heartbreaking account of a woman who desperately loved her son, desperately wanted to help him, but at the same time desperately afraid of him. It has caused her untold upset and distress.

“Your relationship (with mother) has broken down. She wants a relationship, but she can’t have one. She is scared of how you will react. She feels that she has failed as a mother, despite all you have put her through.

“She wants you to treat her like a mum, not take all your anger out on her. And she doesn’t want to be scared of her own son anymore. You are a threat of serious harm to your mother and others.”

She sentenced Bourne to a total of two years and three months in prison and said that the gravity of his offending meant she could not suspend the sentence.

“I will not make a restraining order because she (the mother) says she wants to have a relationship with you in the future.”