Four boys ’died in house fire surrounded by rubbish and faeces after their mother left them alone to go shopping at Sainsbury’s’

16 September 2024 , 16:29

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Brothers Kyson and Bryson, four, and Leyton and Logan, three, died in the fire

The fire at the family home broke out just nine days before Christmas

Four boys died in a house fire surrounded by rubbish and human faeces after their mum left them alone to go shopping, a court heard.

Brothers Leyton and Logan Hoath, three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, four, died in the horror in Sutton, South London, in 2021.

Deveca Rose has denied four counts of manslaughter

The Old Bailey heard a discarded cigarette or upturned tea light sparked the blaze after it ignited a mountain of rubbish on the floor.

Deveca Rose, 29, is accused of killing her two sets of twins after she left them locked in alone to go to Sainsbury’s.

Jurors heard the house was squalid, with buckets and pots used as toilets and rubbish left in the bath.

An hour before the horror, a neighbour heard Rose "screaming, shouting and swearing" at the children.

She yelled "why would you f***ing do that?" before popping out alone to Sainsbury’s to buy "non-essential" items, it was said.

Neighbours realised the house was on fire at around 7pm and could hear the tragic children inside but were unable to gain access.

Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC said: "A neighbour kicked in the door but the fire had taken hold to the extent that it was impossible to enter.

"The fire brigade were called. Many units attended. Using appropriate protective clothing and breathing apparatus firemen put out the fire and entered the house.

"They found the four boys under a bed in the upstairs front room. They were limp and unconscious.

"Firemen noted that there was rubbish all over the floor of the house and human excrement. There was a mattress and a door on the stairs."

The court heard Rose arrived home to find her terraced home alight.

She at first claimed she had left the children with a woman named Jade - causing firefighters to go back inside to search for her.

But there was no sign of her, with police finding "no trace" of Jade, jurors heard.

Emergency crews attempted to save the four children but tragically they were declared dead shortly after.

A cause of death was given as inhalation of fire fumes.

The court was told social services were engaged with the children between July and September 2021.

It came after a GP noted there was a "chaotic home environment".

Officials found the garden was full of rubbish and there was a "very strong unpleasant smell", it was said.

One added: "I asked to see the boys and Deveca refused saying they were asleep. I went to leave but asked again as I was going, Deveca then became quite manic and was defensive, walking out the door with me and pulling it closed behind her.

"I am concerned about her mental health and the fact that she refused to let me see the boys."

But jurors heard the case was closed when Rose failed to engage in further meetings.

The court was told the boys had also not attended school for three months before the tragedy but teachers did not find this weird as it was during Covid.

Ms Lumsdon said: "Deveca Rose rejected offers of help from the family and from social services and was at pains to ensure no one discovered the conditions in which she lived with the children.

"You will hear that Ms Rose has now been examined by specialist doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists, who conclude that she was likely to have been depressed at the time and may have suffered from a personality disorder.

"This may explain the way that she behaved. But it does not, we suggest, provide a defence."

"The Crown is acutely conscious that Ms Rose has lost all four of her children due to her own fault. Her grief must be immense. She will blame herself. It may be said that she has suffered enough.

"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.

‘We must also consider the children’s father, Dalton Hoath, who has lost all four children in one swoop."

Rose, of Wallington, South London, denies four counts of manslaughter and the trial continues.

The boys were allegedly left home alone