Deveca Rose: Harrowing final hours of boys who died alone in fire while mum went shopping
Deveca Rose: Harrowing final hours of boys who died alone in fire while mum went shopping
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Four brothers tragically died in squalor, huddled together under a bed as a house fire raged while their mum was at Sainsbury's. Deveca Rose, 30, has today been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of killing her sons, twins Kyson and Bryson, four, and twins Leyton and Logan, three. The young boys were left unattended at their home in Sutton, south London, on December 16, 2021, when a fire tore through the property.
Sentencing Rose for manslaughter, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: "There are no words to describe this case other than a deeply tragic one." He said the boys were left alone by their mother in an "unsafe" house when a fire broke out, likely caused by a tea light, and Rose was not out purchasing any items that were "essential or vital".
He told Rose: "You were not there and the children were too young to know what to do. As a result of what you did, they were all killed." He described the victims as lively and engaging children who were "deeply loved" by all who had a role in their care. The court heard that Rose was diagnosed with a number of mental health disorders.
In a victim impact statement, the boys' father Dalton Hoath said that losing his four sons was "the worst day of my life", saying: "Their lives had just begun but were cut so short. It was every parent's worst nightmare. I'm not a great talker but even if I was I could not put it in words. I simply want to join them.".
At a previous hearing, Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC told jurors that the boys died huddled under a bed, surrounded by human excrement after their mother left them home alone. There were numerous cigarette ends, lighters, tea lights and incense sticks on the floor and the property was 20cm deep in rubbish, the court heard.
