It’s typical for parents to leave middle school-aged kids home alone to run errands. But when it comes to preschoolers, that’s a whole other story. Tragically, a London woman’s four young sons died in a house fire after she left them home to go shopping — and she was recently convicted for her serious lapse in judgment.
The incident happened in December 2021, but Deveca Rose was only recently found guilty of manslaughter in the case involving her two sets of twins’ deaths. Now, the bereaved mother awaits her sentencing after her 3- and 4-year-old children perished in a fire while locked in their home.
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The London mom was charged in November 2023 following the deaths of her four young sons in a house fire in December 2021.
On December 16, 2021, Rose left her four young sons — twins Leyton and Logan Hoath, 3, and twins Kyson and Bryson Hoath, 4 — home alone while locked in their south London home near Sutton. The boys died in a house fire that broke out while she was shopping, according to a new release from the Metropolitan Police. Rose was charged with four counts of manslaughter and one count of child abandonment in November 2023.
On October 3, Rose was convicted on four counts of manslaughter.
Rose, 30, appeared in court on October 3 and was convicted on four counts of manslaughter for her young sons’ deaths, according to a release from the Metropolitan Police. The bereaved mom, however, was not convicted on the single count of child neglect. She was released on bail and will appear for sentencing on November 15.
The brothers died of smoke inhalation.
Allegedly, Rose left her sons locked in their home shopped in Sainsbury, The London Times reported. Neighbors tried to break in and save the children but could not because of how intense the blaze was. Firefighters reportedly found the brothers “limp and unconscious” under a bed in an upstairs bedroom. They were pronounced dead at a hospital due to smoke inhalation.
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Sadly, the family lived in 'very poor conditions.'
Even before the fire, the boys endured terrible living conditions. Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC told the court, per The London Times: “Firemen noted that there was rubbish all over the floor and human excrement. There was a mattress and a door on the stairs.”
She added: “Although Ms. Rose ensured that her children were well turned out, the reality was that they lived in very poor conditions. There was rubbish thickly spread throughout the house. The toilet and the bath were full of rubbish and not in use. Buckets and pots were used instead.”
Rose claimed she left her son with a woman named Jade and would 'never get over' their deaths.
According to the police news release, Rose claimed on the night of the fire that a woman named Jade whom she met “a few days before” was supposed to have been watching her sons. Jade, however, could not be traced by authorities, despite the “hours of CCTV” that was “viewed by officers who could find no trace of her having met with Jade.”
In a December 2021 statement, Rose said she would “never get over” the loss of her sons, The Times reported.
