A tragic house fire in southern London left four young children dead, leading to a murder trial for their mother. She is accused of leaving the children alone at home, surrounded by filth and unable to escape the blaze.
In southern London, a devastating house fire has taken the lives of four young boys. The children were found surrounded by garbage and human waste, according to a report from the BBC. The children’s mother, 29-year-old Deveca R., is now on trial, facing charges of manslaughter. Authorities allege that in December 2021, she left her two sets of twins alone in their home to go shopping at a local supermarket.
During her absence, a discarded cigarette or a tealight is believed to have ignited the fire in their townhouse, according to The Independent. The young boys reportedly ran upstairs, crying out for help, but were unable to escape the locked house. The fire claimed the lives of Leyton and Logan, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four. They were found hiding under a bed, where they died amidst the debris and trash.
Neighbors called the fire department, and firefighters quickly arrived at the scene in protective gear and respirators. They extinguished the fire and entered the house, where they found the four children unconscious under a bed on the upper floor. Their bodies were limp, and paramedics outside attempted to resuscitate them. The children were taken to a hospital but were pronounced dead on arrival. The cause of death was later determined to be the inhalation of toxic fumes.
Mother accused of negligence as trial begins
Deveca R. was arrested upon her return from the supermarket. Initially, she claimed that she had left her children in the care of a friend. However, after investigating her claims, the police were unable to find any evidence of this friend.
The 29-year-old mother is now on trial for four counts of manslaughter and child neglect. The prosecutor explained, “The prosecution believes that Ms. R. left her children unattended when she went to a Sainsbury’s supermarket that evening.” Before leaving the house, she is suspected of either dropping a lit cigarette or leaving burning tealights, or possibly both. This led to a fire starting on or beneath the sofa, which rapidly spread through the house due to the large amount of trash.
“The children were likely trapped inside the house and unable to escape. They ran upstairs to avoid the fire and screamed to their neighbors, but it was too late to save them,” the prosecutor added.
Social services aware of family’s difficulties
During the trial, the jury was informed that although the mother made sure her children were well-behaved, they lived in “very poor conditions.” Deveca R. had refused offers of help from family and social services. The house was reportedly filled with trash, and the bathroom and toilet were unusable due to the amount of waste. Instead, buckets and pots were used for the children’s needs.
Evidence presented on the first day of the trial suggested that the mother may have been suffering from depression or a possible personality disorder. She was a single parent, having separated from the children’s father, Dalton Hoath.
The court also learned that social services had been aware of the family’s struggles. The agency had been alerted in July 2021, after concerns were raised about the boys’ behavior at school. During a home visit, a social worker noted the trash-filled house and the “strong, unpleasant smell” it emitted. Despite these findings, the case was closed in September 2021, three months before the fire. The case was not reopened, even when the children had been absent from school for three weeks prior to the fire on December 16, 2021.
