Two sets of twin boys in London died in a house fire, and a court is trying to determine if their mother was at fault. Deveca Rose, 29, allegedly left 4-year-old twins Bryson and Kyson Hoath and 3-year-old twins Logan and Leyton Hoath alone in a locked home in the Sutton area of South London in December 2021 while she went shopping. While the mother was gone, a fire broke out, and all four boys were trapped inside.
According to The London Times, the Old Bailey in London heard that neighbors tried to help the young boys escape the fire, but the blaze was too intense. Firefighters ultimately found all four children together under a bed unconscious, seemingly trying to hide from the flames. Tragically, all four died from smoke inhalation. Rose was charged with four counts of manslaughter and child cruelty, but she denies any wrongdoing.
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The children were reportedly left alone at the time of the fire.
Rose reportedly left her sons at home while she went to Sainsbury to shop, per The Times. Neighbors realized the home was on fire and tried to break in to save the children. They were unable to get in due to the intensity of the flames and waited for firefighters to arrive. When they got to the home, it was apparently a sad scene.
The home was in disarray.
Kate Lumsdon, KC for the prosecution, said in court, “Firemen noted that there was rubbish all over the floor and human excrement. There was a mattress and a door on the stairs.”
Lumsdon added, “The children were locked in the house and could not escape. They ran upstairs to get away from the fire and shouted to the neighbours. But it was too late for anything to be done.”
Social workers had reportedly tried to help the mother in the past.
The Times reported that social workers had attempted to intervene five months before the fire to help the mother. She apparently “refused to engage,” and the case was closed two months later. The children had reportedly not been to school for weeks.
“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,” Lumsdon noted. “The toilet and the bath were full of rubbish and not in use. Buckets and pots were used instead.”
The mother reportedly had a story for firefighters upon her arrival home.
Rose allegedly told firefighters she had not left her children alone but had entrusted a friend named Jade to care for them, The Times reported. During the police investigation, it was made clear there was no friend named Jade.
“Jade did not exist, or, if she existed at all, she did not play the role ascribed to her by Ms Rose that night,” Lumsdon said.
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Rose allegedly got upset with the children prior to the blaze.
A neighbor claimed they heard Rose angry with her children prior to the fire, “screaming, shouting and swearing at her children,” the court heard.
One neighbor recorded a conversation when Rose returned, in which she was reportedly heard saying, “My friend sent me to the shop because I was going crazy because they were pulling open rubbish bags. Why didn’t I say no?”
Lumsdon said to the jury, “Had she been at home when the fire started, she may have been able to extinguish it herself, or, if not, she would have been able to get the children safely out of the house.”
She added that the mother has certainly suffered emotionally, but her children suffered the most. “However, it is not only Ms Rose who must be considered in these circumstances. We must consider her children, who were bright and full of life, and their lives have been needlessly taken away.”
The trial continues in London.
