A 29-year-old mother, Deveca Rose, has been found guilty of manslaughter after a tragic fire at her home claimed the lives of her four young sons. The fire broke out while she was out shopping, leaving the children alone in the house.
The incident happened on December 16, 2021, in Sutton, southwest London. Rose’s two sets of twins – Leyton and Logan, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson, aged four – were trapped inside when a cigarette or tea light caused a fire in the living room. Desperate, the boys ran upstairs calling for help, but they couldn’t escape. A neighbor tried to break down the front door, but by the time firefighters arrived, it was too late. The children were found under their beds and were rushed to the hospital, but they died from inhaling the smoke.
The court heard that Rose had left the boys alone before, even though the house was in poor condition, filled with rubbish. Rose initially claimed she had left the boys in the care of a friend, but it was later found that this was not true. The father of the children, Dalton Hoath, shared his heartbreak, saying his world had been turned upside down by the loss of his “young, boisterous lads.”
Paternal great-grandmother Sally Johnson said: ‘I was aware that she would leave the boys by themselves in the house. When I asked her about this, she would say ‘Oh no, I just went to the pop shop’ which is a local shop just seven houses away.
‘I do not know how often this happened but I remember several times I phoned the house and Kyson answered the phone and told me ‘Mummy has gone to the pop shop’.’
Family members and social workers had previously expressed concerns about the children’s living conditions. However, the case was closed by social services just three months before the fire.
Mrs Hoath said: ‘The atmosphere was always tense when I was there. It was like Deveca did not want me to be there.’
The jury found Deveca Rose guilty of manslaughter after deliberating for over three hours. She was cleared of child cruelty charges but now faces sentencing on November 15. This case serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers of leaving children home alone, and the impact it can have on families.
Cross-examining, defence barrister Laurie-Anne Power KC said: ‘You have got a decline in her physical appearance, a decline in the way she is looking after herself, a decline in her mental health, dissociating with her children with her.
‘She’s telling you that’s likely to continue and she has point-blank refused to let you see the children. These are all alarm bells when you think about family intervention.
‘It was not your decision to close the case but the reason you set out the concerns was because you yourself had those concerns about Ms Rose and the boys.’
