Social services ‘tiptoed’ around mother who left four boys alone before they died in house fire

A family snap of the four boys lined up
Left to right: Kyson, Bryson, Leyton and Logan Hoath - PA

Social services have been accused of “tiptoeing” around a mother who left her four young children alone in squalid conditions before they were killed in a house fire.

Deveca Rose had left her two sets of twins inside a locked terraced house while she went to Sainsbury’s when the fatal blaze broke out on Dec 16, 2021.

The 30-year-old, who suffered from mental health problems, falsely claimed throughout her trial that she had left the children with a babysitter.

On Thursday at the Old Bailey, Rose was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter by a majority of 11 to one, but not guilty of child cruelty.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC said that it was a “tragic case” as he adjourned sentencing to Nov 15 and granted Rose continued bail.

Rose had gone to the supermarket, leaving Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, at the rented home in Sutton, south-west London.

When a cigarette or tea light in the living room sparked a fire, the boys were trapped and ran upstairs calling for help.

A mugshot-style police portrait of Deveca Rose
Deveca Rose was in deteriorating mental health, the court heard - Metropolitan Police/PA

A neighbour tried to break down the front door before firefighters in breathing apparatus went in and found the children’s bodies under beds.

The family had been living in squalor, surrounded by rubbish and human excrement before the tragedy, the court heard previously.

Kate Lumsdon KC, prosecuting, previously told the court: “There was rubbish thickly spread throughout the house. The toilet and the bath were full of rubbish and could not be used. Buckets and pots were used as toilets instead.”

‘A nightmare’

In a statement after the verdict, family members said the boys had been “cruelly taken from us in a senseless act of negligence”. They added: “The last three years have been a nightmare.

“Over this time we have had to listen to a number of false narratives and speculation around what happened that night, which have included lights on a Christmas tree and that the boys were left with a babysitter. Today, these have been shown to be false.”

Rose claimed she left the children with a friend called Jade, prompting firefighters to go back into the house to search for her.

She maintained this claim during the trial. Police carried out extensive inquiries to find Jade and concluded she either did not exist or had not been at the house that day.

Jurors also heard that social services were engaged with the children between November 2018 and January 2020, and between July and September 2021, when the case was closed.

Smoke and fire damage is seen on the white exterior of the house
The four boys were found upstairs in their mother’s Sutton home - Aaron Chown/PA

After she was arrested, Rose told police: “I hate social services with a passion. You guys might see that as struggling, I see it as organised chaos. I’ve got four kids and one toilet so they would use buckets.”

Jurors were told that social worker Georgia Singh had raised concerns about the mental state of Rose in July 2021 when she appeared to be deteriorating during lockdown.

Laurie-Anne Power KC cross-examined Ms Singh in court for the defence, telling her: “You have got a decline in [Rose’s] physical appearance, a decline in the way she is looking after herself, a decline in her mental health, dissociating with her children with her.

“She’s telling you that’s likely to continue and she has point-blank refused to let you see the children. These are all alarm bells when you think about family intervention.” She noted that it was not Ms Singh’s decision to close the case.

The court also heard that the children had not attended school for three weeks before their deaths.

‘Robust and proactive’

In her closing speech, Ms Power said Rose’s mental health had clearly been deteriorating but she refused help and social services had “tiptoed” around her.

Ms Power said: “It is the job of people put in a position of authority charged with overseeing the health and safety of children to be robust and proactive, not to tiptoe around.”

Jonathan Williams, director of children’s services for Sutton, said the council had concluded that the children were “happy” and “healthy”.

He said that, after a “minor incident” at the boys’ preschool which was not a safeguarding matter, social services visited the family three times.

Two of these visits were “undertaken by a qualified social worker” and it was “ascertained that the boys were happy, healthy, and maintained a good relationship with their mother”.

He added: “The minor incident had been addressed and there were no other safeguarding concerns. The case was subsequently closed.”

Mr Williams said no concerns about “safeguarding, welfare or the children’s development” were raised between the final social worker visit and the boys’ deaths.

Det Chief Insp Samantha Townsend said: “This has been a difficult investigation for everyone involved. Deveca Rose was the very person who should have protected and nurtured the four boys, but instead, put her own self-interest above their safety.

“Had she been in the house when the fire started she may have been able to put it out, or at the very least get the children to safety.”