A MUM has been jailed after she killed her four twin boys in a fire after leaving them alone in their squalid home to go shopping.
Leyton and Logan Hoath, three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, four, died surrounded by rubbish and human faeces.
Deveca Rose, 29, had left the children locked inside as she popped out to buy “non essential” items at Sainsbury’s.
The boys were heard desperately screaming “there’s a fire” as flames engulfed the terraced home in Sutton, South London, just days before Christmas.
Rose has now been jailed for ten years after she was convicted of four counts of manslaughter.
In a victim impact statement, the boys’ dad Dalton Hoath said losing his four sons was “the worst day of my life””,”.
He added: “Their lives had just begun but were cut so short. It was every parent’s worst nightmare.
“I’m not a great talker but even if I was I could not put it in words. I simply want to join them.”
Dalton also told how he cried or stayed in bed and came close to jumping off a bridge “many times” in the days after losing his sons.
He added: “I have tried to be some sort of normal for my own family now.
“I will never recover from losing my funny, beautiful boys. I have to fight for all of us left behind and live with this massive pain in my heart before I meet them again.”
While great grandmother Sally Johnson wept as she revealed her torment over the boys’ deaths.
She said: “The thought of them crying and screaming out will haunt me forever.
“My only comfort is they are now together forever and need never be alone again.
“I’m afraid I will never be able to forgive… I would like to say their favourite word – why? Just why?”
The Old Bailey heard a discarded cigarette or upturned tea light sparked the blaze after it ignited a mountain of rubbish on the floor.
Rose had let the family home fall into a vile state, with buckets and pots used as toilets, human excrement on the floor and rubbish left in the bath.
There was also a mattress and possibly a door on the stairs and the smoke alarm had no batteries.
The fire was started by a discarded cigarette[/caption]
The boys had been locked inside the home as the flames took hold[/caption]
On December 16, 2021, CCTV showed the mum attempting to shop with the children in her local Sainsbury’s.
She could be seen trying to get two of the youngsters to stay in the trolley as the other two ran around the aisles.
The footage then showed Rose unable to pay for her shopping before the family left the store.
An hour before the horror, the mum was heard “screaming, shouting and swearing” at the children.
She yelled “why would you f***ing do that?” before heading back to Sainsbury’s alone.
Neighbours realised the house was on fire at around 7pm and could hear the tragic children inside but were unable to gain access.
Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC said: “A neighbour kicked in the door but the fire had taken hold to the extent that it was impossible to enter.
“The fire brigade were called. Many units attended. Using appropriate protective clothing and breathing apparatus firemen put out the fire and entered the house.
“They found the four boys under a bed in the upstairs front room. They were limp and unconscious.
“Firemen noted that there was rubbish all over the floor of the house and human excrement. There was a mattress and a door on the stairs.”
The court heard Rose arrived home to find her terraced home alight.
She at first claimed she had left the children with a woman named Jade – causing firefighters to go back inside to search for her.
But there was no sign of her, with police also finding “no trace” of Jade.
Emergency crews attempted to save the four children but tragically they were declared dead shortly after.
Logan was the first to be declared dead at 8.39pm, followed by Leyton at 8.40pm, Kyson at 9.12pm and Bryson at 9.36pm.
A cause of death was given as inhalation of fire fumes.
Rose was arrested following the horror and told police: “My kids just died and I’m being f***ing arrested”.
The court was told social services were engaged with the children between July and September 2021.
It came after a GP noted there was a “chaotic home environment”.
Officials found the garden was full of rubbish and there was a “very strong unpleasant smell”.
One added: “I asked to see the boys and Deveca refused saying they were asleep. I went to leave but asked again as I was going, Deveca then became quite manic and was defensive, walking out the door with me and pulling it closed behind 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 failed to engage in further meetings.
The court was also told the boys had also not attended school for three months before the tragedy but teachers did not find this strange as it was during Covid.
Rose had popped out to Sainsbury’s leaving them alone[/caption]
Neighbours heard the boys screaming from the burning house[/caption]
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