Mother Jailed for 10 Years After Four Sons Die in House Fire While She Went Shopping

30-year-old Deveca Rose has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of the manslaughter of her four young sons. The two sets of twins—Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four—perished in a house fire in Sutton, South London, on 16 December 2021, while their mother was out shopping.

The Old Bailey heard that Rose had left her children alone in a home described as “unsafe,” with tea light candles providing illumination. The front door was locked, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were either non-functional or had depleted batteries. A discarded cigarette or an overturned tea light is believed to have ignited the blaze, which quickly spread due to the cluttered conditions inside the house.

Neighbors reported hearing the children’s desperate cries as they attempted to escape the flames by running upstairs. Despite a neighbor’s attempt to break down the front door and the swift response of firefighters, the boys were found under beds and succumbed to smoke inhalation later that night.

Upon returning home to find the emergency services at the scene, Rose claimed she had left the children in the care of a friend named Jade. However, police investigations concluded that this individual either did not exist or was not present at the property that day.

During sentencing, Judge Mark Lucraft KC remarked, “There are no words to describe this case other than a deeply tragic one.” He emphasized that Rose had left her young children alone in hazardous conditions, noting that her second trip to Sainsbury’s that day was not for essential items. He added, “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.”

The court was informed that social worker Georgia Singh had previously raised concerns about the family’s situation, but the case was closed three months before the fatal incident. Evidence also suggested that Rose may have suffered from a personality disorder, though the prosecution maintained that this did not constitute a defense.

In a poignant victim impact statement read to the court, the boys’ father, Dalton Hoath, expressed his profound grief: “Their lives had just begun but were cut so short. It was every parent’s worst nightmare… I have tried to be some sort of normal for my own family now. I will never recover from losing my funny, beautiful boys. I have to fight for all of us left behind and live with this massive pain in my heart before I meet them again.”

This heartbreaking case underscores the devastating consequences of neglect and the critical importance of safeguarding vulnerable children.