A MOTHER has been found guilty of murdering her quadruplets in a house fire after she left them alone in a squalid house while shopping.
Leyton and Logan Hoath, three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, four, died surrounded by trash and human excrement in their squalid home.
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Brothers Kyson and Bryson, four, and Leyton and Logan, three, died in the fire
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Their mother was found guilty of manslaughterCredit: Central News
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She will be sentenced later Credits: PA
Deveca Rose, 29, left the children locked inside while she went out to buy “unnecessary” items at Sainsbury’s.
Boys were heard desperately screaming “it’s a fire” as flames engulfed a terraced house in Sutton, south London, just days before Christmas.
Rose has now been found guilty of four counts of manslaughter after three hours and 22 minutes of deliberation, but has been cleared of cruelty to a child.
The Old Bailey heard how a dropped cigarette or an upturned tea light started the fire after igniting a mountain of rubbish on the floor.
Rose allowed the family home to fall into a state of disrepair, with buckets and pots used as toilets, human excrement on the floor and rubbish left in the bathtub.
There was a mattress and maybe a door on the stairs, and the smoke alarm had no batteries.
On 16 December 2021, CCTV showed a mum trying to shop with her children at her local Sainsbury’s store.
She could be seen trying to get two youngsters to stay in the stroller while the other two ran around the aisle.
The video then showed Rose unable to pay for the shopping before the family left the store.
An hour before the horror, the mother was heard “screaming, shouting and swearing” at the children.
She yelled “why the hell would you do that?” before I went back to Sainsbury’s.
Neighbors realized that the house was on fire around 7 p.m. and could hear the tragic children inside, but could not access it.
Kate Lumsdon KC, prosecuting, said: “The neighbor kicked in the door but the fire had taken hold to the point where it was impossible to get in.
“Fire crews were called. Many units came. With proper protective clothing and breathing apparatus, firefighters extinguished the fire and entered the house.
“They found four boys under the bed in the front room upstairs. They were limp and unconscious.
“Firefighters noticed that there was trash and human excrement on the floor of the house. There was a mattress and a door on the stairs.”
The court heard that Rose arrived home to find her terraced house alight.
At first she claimed she had left the children with a woman named Jade – prompting firefighters to go back inside to look for her.
But there was no sign of her, and the police also found “no sign” of Jade.
Emergency crews tried to save the four children, but unfortunately they were pronounced dead soon after.
Logan was the first to be pronounced dead at 8:39 p.m., followed by Leyton at 8:40 p.m., Kyson at 9:12 p.m., and Bryson at 9:36 p.m.
The cause of death was given as fire inhalation.
Rose was arrested after the horror and told police: “My kids just died and they’re fucking arresting me.”
The court was told that social services were involved with the children between July and September 2021.
It came about after a GP noted a “chaotic home environment”.
Officers found the garden littered with rubbish and a “very strong foul smell”.
The father of four tragic boys speaks out
The father of four boys said his world had been “turned upside down”.
Dalton Hoath, who was not living with the boys at the time of the fire, described them as “young, boisterous lads” who were “well behaved”, “well behaved” and loved.
He said he received a call from Rose on the evening of December 16, 2021, and she was “hysterical” as she told him there was a fire and that children were in the building.
He then rushed to a “smoldering” terraced house in Collingwood Road, Sutton, with the boy’s grandfather where he was told his sons had been taken to two hospitals.
Mr Hoath said: “After I was taken to hospital it became clear that all four of my children had failed and my world had been turned upside down.”
One added: “I asked to see the boys and Deveca refused saying they were sleeping. I went to leave but I asked again as I went, Deveca then became quite manic and defensive, walked out the door with me and closed it for himself to her.
“I am concerned about her mental health and the fact that she refused to let me see the boys.”
But the case was closed when Rose did not participate in further meetings.
The court was also told that the boys had not gone to school for three months before the tragedy, but the teachers did not find it strange because it was during Covid.
Rose was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on November 15.
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The boys were left alone while Rose went shoppingCredit: Central News
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Rose was heard screaming at them before the horrorCredit: PA
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The fire was caused by a discarded cigarette Credits: PA
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