In a devastating court case, prosecutors revealed that two sets of young twins tragically lost their lives in a house fire in south London after being left home alone while their mother went shopping.
The Old Bailey in London heard that 4-year-old twins Bryson and Kyson Hoath, along with their younger brothers Logan and Leyton Hoath, aged 3, were unable to escape the flames that engulfed their locked home in Sutton in December 2021.
Despite desperate attempts from neighbors, the fire claimed the lives of all four boys.
According to the BBC, Sky News, and The Times, the fire likely started due to a discarded cigarette or an overturned tea light.
Prosecutors described the house as being in disarray, with piles of trash and even human waste inside, which may have contributed to the fire spreading rapidly.
Deveca Rose, 29, the boys’ mother, is facing four counts of manslaughter, charges she has denied.
Rose was officially charged in November 2023, along with additional child cruelty charges, which she also disputes.
During the trial, prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC suggested that Rose may have either dropped a lit cigarette or left tea lights burning before she left the house.
“A fire started on or under the sofa, and due to the amount of rubbish in the house it took hold quickly,” Lumsdon explained, according to Sky News.
The heartbreaking details shared in court revealed that the young boys, unable to escape the locked home, ran upstairs and cried out for help.
Neighbors, alerted by the smoke and the children’s pleas, attempted to kick down the door, but the blaze was too fierce for them to enter.
“The children were locked in the house and could not escape.
They ran upstairs to get away from the fire and shouted to the neighbors,” Lumsdon said, according to Sky News.
Sadly, when firefighters arrived, the boys were found “limp and unconscious” under a bed.
They were rushed to the hospital but tragically pronounced dead, with the cause of death confirmed as inhalation of fire fumes.
The prosecution painted a grim picture of the home’s condition, describing it as littered with rubbish and excrement.
They also reported that the children had not attended school for three weeks leading up to the fire.
In a shocking twist, when Rose returned home to find her house ablaze, she claimed to firefighters that she had left the children in the care of a woman named Jade.
However, prosecutors say there was no evidence that “Jade” existed or was present at the home that night.
Rose’s trial is ongoing, leaving the court and the public heartbroken as the full details of this tragedy continue to unfold.
