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.”
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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