A court has heard that two sets of twins tragically died in a house fire in England after being left home alone while their mother was out shopping. Prosecutors told London’s Old Bailey 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 blaze that broke out in their gated home in Sutton, south London, in December 2021.
According to reports BBC, The fire was allegedly started by a discarded cigarette or an upside-down tea light. Prosecutors described the house as being filled with trash and human waste, which contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
Deveca Rose, the children’s 29-year-old mother, has denied four counts of manslaughter. In November 2023, she was charged with four counts of manslaughter, as well as child cruelty, which she also denies, according to a news release from the court. Metropolitan Police.
“Either he dropped a lit cigarette before he left or he left tea lights burning, or both,” prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC said, according to News from heaven“A fire started on or under the sofa and, due to the amount of trash in the house, it spread quickly.”
As the fire spread, the children reportedly ran upstairs, screaming for help, while their mother was at a grocery store. Neighbors, who realized the house was on fire, could hear the children inside but were unable to rescue them. “The children were locked in the house and could not escape,” Lumsdon told the jury. “They ran upstairs to get away from the fire, but it was too late.”
When emergency services arrived, they found Bryson, Kyson, Logan and Leyton “limp and unresponsive” under a bed. They were rushed to the hospital but were later pronounced dead. The cause of death was determined to be smoke inhalation from the fire.
Firefighters reported that the house was in very bad condition, with “trash all over the floor, human waste and a mattress and a door on the stairs,” according to The timesThe prosecution also revealed that the children had not attended school for three weeks before the fire.
Upon returning home, Rose reportedly told firefighters that she had left her children in the care of a woman named Jade. However, investigators found no evidence that anyone else was present and prosecutors suggested that “Jade did not exist, or if she did, she did not play the role attributed to her by Ms. Rose that night.” The trial is ongoing.
