Deveca Rose, a 30-year-old mother from London, has been convicted of manslaughter following the tragic deaths of her two sets of twin sons in a house fire.
On Dec. 16, 2021, while Rose went out shopping, a fire broke out at her home in the Sutton area of south London, leaving her children, aged three and four, trapped inside.
Twins Leyton and Logan Hoath, 3, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, 4, were found unconscious by firefighters in an upstairs bedroom.
Despite efforts to save them, the boys were pronounced dead shortly after being taken to the hospital. The cause of death was later determined to be inhalation of fire fumes.
The court heard that Rose had locked the children in the house, which was filled with rubbish and unusable bathrooms, before leaving them unattended.
A cigarette or tea light is believed to have started the fire, which quickly spread through the terraced home. Firefighters were unable to reach the boys in time.
Rose had initially claimed that a friend named Jade was watching the boys, but police investigations found no evidence that this person existed. In previous police interviews, she admitted to leaving the children alone on two other occasions.
The father of the boys, Dalton Hoath, expressed his devastation, describing his children as “well-behaved” and deeply loved. He revealed that Rose had left the children alone before, but was unaware of the full extent of her actions.
Rose will face sentencing on Nov. 15, where she could be imprisoned for years.
