'This nightmare is never-ending' - Mother's smile hides agony of son's blaze death

Liam Wright was killed in a suspected arson attack 25 years ago.

The Shropshire Star last week revealed that the death remains a mystery, despite extensive efforts by police to get to the truth.

Today Mrs Wright appealed to Star readers to help find out why Liam died inside a burning shed next to Madeley ski slope – and put who was responsible behind bars.

She has spoken of her heartbreak as she prepares for a memorial service to mark the anniversary of his death later this month.

Liam's body was found in the shed on September 10, 1990, but nobody has ever managed to establish why Liam was in the building, or how the fire started.

Mrs Wright says that even after a quarter of a century, she is still troubled by the mystery and fears never finding the true story behind Liam's death.

Behind my ready smile a terrible sadness lies there

Year after year, I put on this brave face

Like donning a mask I hide behind this smile

You think I'm great, the life and soul of every party

Full of fun and boundless life

That smile, which I call the lying smile

Ask me how I am . . . I'm great! Doing just fine!

You say, I admire your strength

Sometimes the loneliness and sadness overwhelms me

Yet I still smile

You are so embarrassed when you at last you see me cry

The mask finally falls

The lying smile has gone

This is the real me

She has written a short poem called The Lying Smile to help others understand her grief.

"One day, he was a vibrant, fun-loving, carefree teenager, the next day he became a charred body," says Mrs Wright, who is now 69.

"Those two words – charred body – headlined in the local press. Those words haunted me then and they still do. Those words, they reverberated through my body on and on like a never-ending nightmare causing me the most excruciating pain."

Mrs Wright and her husband Eddie were living in Ketley Grange at the time of Liam's death, but they moved to start a new life on the Costa Blanca in 2000. Just over two years later, Eddie died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 67.

She says Eddie was always tormented by not knowing what had happened to Liam, and his death left her without the one person she could talk to about the tragedy.

"For some couples, something like that can drive them apart, but for us it brought us closer together," she says. "When I was going through my darkest despair, I always had Eddie to talk to."

Mrs Wright moved to Spain because of problems with osteoarthritis, but says it was a difficult time.

"It was hard leaving Liam behind," she says. "It was a new life, but we had only been here for two years when Eddie died."

She decided to speak out in the hope that somebody somewhere will have pangs of conscience and come forward with information.

"As the 25th anniversary is fast approaching I would beg anyone who knows what happened on that fateful day, to please come forward, now is the time to tell it," she says.

"I also appeal to the conscience of whoever maybe responsible – how can you live with yourself?"

Mrs Wright says the grief has taken its toll on her health over the years, and nine years after Liam's death, she suffered a breakdown.

"My body just shut down for a while unable to cope," she says. "I was suffering from severe depression and was prescribed Prozac.

"People were so surprised when I was diagnosed because as I've said previously no-one apart from my late husband Eddie and my daughter Deb knew of my inner turmoil. All the family were severely affected by this utterly senseless tragedy."

Mrs Wright says that she continues to be burdened by a sense of guilt that she could have done more at the time of Liam's death to encourage witnesses to come forward.

"At the time of Liam's death, I was in such a state of shock, I kept a very low profile," she says. "I did exactly what I was told to do.

"I had a mad moment of anger a few days later, when I wanted to do my own thing. I wanted to walk around Madeley showing his picture, allow myself to be interviewed by the Shropshire Star and BBC Radio Shropshire, but was advised by the police not to do so.

"I often wonder if I had done so, or not kept such a low profile if there may have been a more positive outcome."

Mrs Wright also says she has had difficulty sharing her grief with others.

"Grief is something too personal and private to display publicly so I have always kept my true feelings well hidden," she says.

"It has been a living nightmare, 25 years of not knowing how Liam died, 25 years of wondering why. Twenty-five years, a quarter of a century, when I should have been enjoying seeing my son grow . . . instead just this eternal grief.

"I never had a chance to say goodbye, was not allowed to see him. I was not allowed to mention the fire, in case I upset or offended someone. I can tell you, it sure as hell upset me. Liam died in a fire."

Mr Wright's hopes were briefly raised five years ago, when the case was reopened.

Her daughter Deborah Mason – Liam's elder sister – re-traced his final steps in an effort to jog people's memories.

Shortly before, police had received an anonymous letter, and a man in his late 30s was arrested on suspicion of murder. But these hopes were dashed when the man was released on bail.

"Imagine the hope when an arrest was made, then the torture, when, once again, it ended without a result," says Mrs Wright.

Liam, who lived in Birchmore, Brookside, had been on a night out at the Cuckoo Oak pub in Bridgnorth Road, Madeley. He left the pub at around 10.30pm, and walked into Prince Street, before passing the Miners Arms pub towards the centre of Madeley.

He was last seen at a Chinese takeaway in the town's High Street around 11.30pm. The first calls to the fire service were made around an hour later.

Police later said they believed he was been chased into the hut by a gang of youths, who then set it alight.

A humanist, non-religious memorial service will be held at The Venue in Hills Lane Drive on September 12 at 2pm. The family is inviting old friends and neighbours to attend, along with his old schoolmates.

Mrs Wright says there are days when she worries she will never know the truth.

"It's possible, I'm not getting any younger," she says. "I just live in the hope that one day, somehow, I will know what happened.

"Time does not heal, it just makes the pain easier to bear.

"All Deb and I ever wish for is closure, to have some inner peace, to know what happened to Liam, to finally be able to let go and let him rest in peace too. I have served a 25-year sentence and for what? Just loving my son."

• Do you have information that could help catch Liam’s killer? Call the police non emergency number on 101 or speak anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.