Deveca Rose, 30, has been sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter for the deaths of her four sons, aged three and four, in a devastating house fire. The boys—Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, and Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three—perished in the fire on the evening of December 16, 2021, after being left home alone by their mother while she went shopping.
The tragic incident occurred at the family’s rented home in Sutton, south-west London. Rose had left the two sets of twins unsupervised in a house described as being in a state of squalor, with the children surrounded by rubbish and human excrement. The fire is believed to have started from a tea light or cigarette in the living room. The boys were trapped inside the building and sought refuge under their beds, where they died from smoke inhalation.
At her sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said that the case was “deeply tragic” and criticized Rose for leaving the children in an unsafe environment. He noted that Rose’s second trip to Sainsbury’s that day was not for any essential or vital reason and that her absence during the fire contributed to the deaths of her sons.
The sentencing was emotionally charged, with the boys’ father, Dalton Hoath, describing the loss of his sons as “the worst day of my life.” He spoke of the immense pain and grief he felt, stating that he could not put into words the sorrow of losing his young children. Rose was visibly distraught as the sentence was passed, collapsing to the floor in the courtroom and sobbing as she was led away.
The family’s anguish was echoed in the statements of their relatives, including their great-grandmother, Sally Johnson, who spoke of the horror of the children’s last moments and the heartbreak that still haunts the family. “The thought of them crying and screaming out will haunt me forever,” she said.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, it emerged that the family had been under the scrutiny of social services. Concerns had been raised about the children’s living conditions, but these issues were not fully investigated before the fire occurred. The boys had also not attended school for three weeks before their deaths, raising further alarms about their welfare.
Rose was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter after the court heard how the house had been in a state of neglect. The fire broke out while the boys were alone, and despite a neighbor’s attempts to save them, they could not be rescued in time. Firefighters found their bodies after entering the building in full protective gear.
The tragic loss of the Hoath twins has left the community in mourning, with the case highlighting serious concerns over the family’s care and the system’s failure to protect vulnerable children. Deveca Rose will now serve a ten-year prison sentence for the deaths of her four sons.
