A mother who left her four sons alone to die in a burning room full of rubbish and excrement may require treatment rather than punishment, a court heard today.
Deveca Rose, 30, was out shopping when Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, and Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, perished in the flames at their home in Sutton, south London on 16 December 2021.
Either a cigarette or a lit tea light set fire to the sofa and the blaze spread quickly in the rubbish strewn across the floor.
Neighbours heard the two sets of twins shouting out for help and battered the door down tried to get to them, but were beaten back by the flames.
By the time the blaze was brought under control by firefighters both sets of twins were dead.
Rose was due to be sentenced today having been found guilty of manslaughter in October, but the hearing was adjourned.
Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, said that a hospital order may be sought for Rose, meaning she would avoid going to prison.
‘It may be that, ultimately, some form of hospital order is the appropriate order.’
‘I cannot and will not sentence today.’
Investigators found the children’s beds were dismantled and Rose was living in one room with them, using buckets as toilets.
The bath was full of rubbish, the garden was also overflowing with junk, excreta was smeared on the walls and the children had not been to school for three months.
Social services had been repeatedly involved with the children but did not follow up on planned work because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
They contacted her again after an incident at school but ‘disengaged’ after Rose failed to attend meetings.
Rose denied but was convicted of four charges of manslaughter by an Old Bailey jury by majority verdict of 11-1 on each count after deliberating for three hours and 22 minutes.
She was cleared of one charge of child cruelty.
Rose had claimed she left the children with a woman called ‘Jade’ but police found no evidence she actually existed.
The judge said that the relevant authorities were not treating the case with sufficient urgency.
‘Up until now I do not get the sense that the case is being given the urgency that it requires.’
The case was re-listed for a mention on 25 November.
Rose spent most of her trial watching from a videolink at home after being hospitalised due to her physical health and did not give evidence.
The jury only saw her while they were being sworn in as Rose sat wailing in the dock.
The court heard how even family members were unwelcome at Rose’s home and were not allowed to go beyond the front room.
When they asked to use the toilet they were told to go to a Tescos down the road.
Some of the boys had even resorted to using their schoolbag as a toilet and teachers could smell urine in them.
Neighbours had reported a problem with rats as Rose allowed bags of rubbish to pile up outside.
Social services were engaged with the children between November 2018 and January 2020 and July and September 2021.
