Woman found guilty of manslaughter after death of four boys in Sutton house fire

A woman has been convicted of manslaughter after four small boys died in a fire in Sutton.

The children were two sets of twins, Bryson and Kyson aged four and Leyton and Logan, aged three. The boys had been left alone at their home in Collingwood Road on the evening of Thursday, 16 December 2021 when a fire broke out that would end their lives.

Their mother, Deveca Rose, 29 (3.10.94), of Sutton appeared for trial at the Old Bailey charged with four counts of manslaughter and one count of child neglect.

On Thursday, 3 October she was convicted of manslaughter. She was released on bail to appear for sentencing on Friday, 15 November.

She was found not guilty of the second charge.

In a statement the boys’ family said: “Bryson, Kyson, Leyton and Logan Hoath were cruelly taken from us in a senseless act of negligence. The impact this has had on us, their father Dalton, and our family cannot be overstated.

“The last three years have been a nightmare. Over this time we have had to listen to a number of false narratives and speculation around what happened that night, which have included lights on a Christmas tree and that the boys were left with a babysitter. Today these have been shown to be false.

“Bryson, Kyson, Leyton and Logan were left alone by their mother Deveca Rose, and today she has been found to be responsible for their deaths.

“Our family will now take time to heal and let the boys rest. We wish to thank the Courts, the members of the Jury and the Police Investigation Team for the work they have done to ensure that the boy’s story has been heard and that justice is done.”

The court heard that shortly after 19:00hrs on the night of Thursday, 16 December, a passer-by on Collingwood Road realised the house was on fire and alerted a neighbour who kicked in the front door in an attempt to reach the children, but the fire, having taken hold of the property, prevent him from entering.

London Fire Brigade [LFB] attended along with police and London Ambulance Service [LAS]. Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control and recovered the four unconscious boys from an upstairs bedroom.

Medics at the scene attempted to save them, treating them on the pavement outside the address before they were taken to hospital by ambulance. Sadly, despite their efforts, none of the children survived.

At the time of the fire the children were home alone. Their mother, Deveca Rose, had gone shopping. She returned home in the midst of the incident.

Ms Rose claimed that the children had been left in the care of a woman called ‘Jade’ which prompted LFB to go back into the address to search for Jade, however no other persons were found inside the house.

Ms Rose was arrested on suspicion of child neglect and following interview, was released under investigation.

Post-mortem examinations found the cause of the boy’s deaths to have been inhalation of fire fumes.

A meticulous investigation was undertaken by detectives in order to identify the alleged babysitter, ‘Jade’.

Detectives considered that the passer-by who raised the alarm may have been ‘Jade’, however, the description of the woman who had alerted neighbours on Collingwood Road to the fire, and the description of Jade given by Deveca Rose, were not similar.

After Deveca Rose described the circumstances of her meeting Jade a few days before the fire, hours of CCTV was viewed by officers who could find no trace of her having met with Jade – when this was put to her, Rose claimed that she had met her on a minor road with no CCTV.

In addition, examination of the call data on Rose’s mobile phone showed no contact details for a ‘Jade’ and, when Rose had attempted to call Jade from the scene of the fire, data showed that Rose’s calls did not connect as the number was not viable. The number Rose had dialled in the presence of officers was notably similar to her own phone number.

CCTV enquiries in the area showed that Rose had also gone out alone the day before the fire, 15 December 2021.

She was charged on Thursday, 9 November 2023 with four counts of manslaughter, contrary to common law, and child abandonment contrary to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

Conditions inside the address were messy and unsanitary.

Investigators believed that the fire was started in the living room on the ground floor either by a candle/tealight or a burning cigarette. The fire was able to spread quickly due to the floor being strewn with discarded items and rubbish.

The children, who had been locked inside the address, were unable to escape the house and had fled to an upstairs bedroom where they would be overcome by smoke.

Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Townsend of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said: “This has been a difficult investigation for everyone involved. Deveca Rose was the very person who should have protected and nurtured the four boys, but instead, put her own self-interest above their safety.

“Had she been in the house when the fire started she may have been able to put it out, or at the very least get the children to safety.

“In the face of her neglect, instead of taking responsibility for her actions, she invented a story that involved a baby sitter whose very existence could not be confirmed.

“The sadness at the needless loss of four young lives is beyond our comprehension.

“I cannot begin to imagine the devastation felt by the children’s family and loved ones and our thoughts are very much with them all today.”