Mother jailed for 10 years after her four sons died in house fire while she was out shopping
A woman whose four young boys died in a house fire after she went to a supermarket has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Deveca Rose, 30, was found guilty of the manslaughter of her two sets of twins, Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, in October last year.
Jurors were told the four children died after a discarded cigarette or upturned tea light sparked a blaze at the family house in Collingwood Road, Sutton, in south London.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC said during sentencing on Friday: “There are no words to describe this case other than a deeply tragic one.”
During the prosecution’s opening statement last year, Kate Lumsdon KC alleged that Rose left the children alone to visit a supermarket on the evening of 16 December 2021.
She also told the court at the time that “there was rubbish thickly spread throughout the house”.
Deveca Rose has been jailed over the deaths of her sons. Pic: PA
Children ‘too young’ to escape
Rose, who the court heard suffered from mental health problems, covered her head with a thick hood and hid her face as she was sentenced.
Judge Lucraft told the court that the children were left alone by their mother in an “unsafe” house that was lit using tea light candles when the fire broke out.
He then noted that she had already been to Sainsbury’s earlier that day, and her second trip at the time of the fire was not to purchase any items that were “essential or vital”.
The front door was locked at the time of the fire, the judge noted, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the home were either not working or were out of battery.
“You were not there, and the children were too young to know what to do,” he said.
“As a result of what you did, they were all killed.”
He then described the victims as lively and engaging children who were “deeply loved” by all who had a role in their care.
The aftermath of the house fire in Sutton. Pic: PA
After the fire started, the court heard that the children ran upstairs and started calling for help.
A neighbour attempted to break down the front door, and firefighters later found their bodies under beds once they entered the property.
The boys were rushed to separate hospitals, where they died from inhalation of fumes that night.
Rose arrived home while firefighters were still tackling the blaze, and claimed she left the children with a friend called Jade. Police concluded she either did not exist or was not at the property that day.
The court heard social worker Georgia Singh had raised concerns about the family and that the case was closed three months before the fire.
Previously, a health visitor had also expressed worries, but they were not followed up after she retired, jurors were told.
The children had not attended school for three weeks before their deaths.
It also heard evidence which suggested Rose may have suffered from a personality disorder – but the prosecution said this was not a defence.
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Dad of boys ‘will never recover’
Dalton Hoath, father of the boys, told the court ahead of sentencing that losing his sons was “the worst day of my life”.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by a relative, he said: “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.”
The boys’ grandfather Jason Hoath also told the court, “the pain from this loss has shattered my life in every possible way,” while their great-grandmother Sally Johnson said: “The thought of them crying and screaming out will haunt me forever.”
Step-grandmother Kerrie Hoath later said outside of the court that the children had been “cruelly taken away from us” by Rose.
She then added: “The impact [the children] have made on us in their short lives cannot be measured and will never be forgotten.
“We miss them every day and will always hold them in our hearts. While there will be better days to come, the hole that has been left by our children’s deaths cannot be filled.”
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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