Neighbours heard cries of brothers who died in fire
Four young brothers who died after being left locked in a home where the floors were covered with rubbish cried “there’s a fire” as neighbours tried to rescue them, a court heard.
Deveca Rose, 29, is on trial for the manslaughter of her two sets of twins, Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, and child cruelty. She is alleged to have left her four boys alone while she went shopping.
The boys died after a fire was sparked by a discarded cigarette or tea light in the living room at their home in Sutton, south London, on 16 December 2021, the court heard.
The children were known to social services but their case was closed three months before their deaths. The court was told the floors of their home were 20cm (8in) deep in rubbish. Yesterday, London Fire Brigade station officer Darren Woodhams told the court that a smoke detector on the first floor had no batteries.
A passerby had banged on the door of a neighbour, who made the first of four calls to the fire brigade, saying there were children inside the property, jurors were told.
Woodhams said the neighbour saw “smoke and flames” and alerted her husband. “He could hear the children’s voices saying there was a fire here, over and over,” he said.
“A neighbour forced the front door to try to get into the property to access the children. However, due to the fire’s intensity in the front room of the property they were unable to enter.”
Eight fire engines were deployed, with the first arriving at 6.54pm. Two firefighters extinguished the fire and began searching the ground floor before moving upstairs. Woodhams said the crew experienced difficulties due to a mattress and “possibly a door” lying on the stairs.
The firefighters found the boys under a bed. All four were unconscious and not breathing. They were later declared dead in hospital.
Rose claimed she had left the children with a woman called Jade, but extensive inquiries led to the “firm conclusion” that Jade either did not exist or played no part in the events of that evening. Rose has denied the charges. The trial continues.