Social services 'tiptoed' around mum Deveca Rose found guilty after sons died in house fire

Social services were repeatedly involved with the family before mum Deveca Rose, 29, left the four young children to die in a house fire while she shopped at Sainsbury's

Social services "tiptoed" around a mum found guilty of leaving her four children to die in a horror house fire while she shopped at Sainsbury's.

Deveca Rose, 29, was charged with four counts of manslaughter after the blaze ripped through her mid-terrace home in Sutton, south London, on December 16, 2021 - killing her two sets of twin boys, Kyson and Bryson, four, and Leyton and Logan, aged three. The Old Bailey heard that a discarded cigarette or upturned tea light had sparked a blaze, as a jury found Rose guilty of the manslaughter of her four sons.

On the day of the fire, Rose was heard shouting and swearing by a neighbour before leaving the children alone to go to Sainsbury's. It also emerged that social services were repeatedly involved with the family, but failed to follow up on planned work due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Laurie-Anne Power KC, defending, said social services had "tiptoed" around Rose, whose mental health was deteriorating.

She said: "There was a clear decline in all aspects of Ms Rose's life. Her physical appearance, the home, her relationships, all those things we see she neglected. 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."

In a previous hearing earlier this week, the court was read a transcript of Rose's arrest at the hospital after her sons had died. A police officer told Rose: "Are you aware there was a fire today at your home address and four children were left in that address? And unfortunately they've all passed away, they're all deceased."

Rose replied: "Mmhm every single one of my kids are dead." When told she was being arrested for child neglect Rose said: "Neglect? I wasn't on my own, but okay." When told she would have to be handcuffed to preserve forensic evidence on her hands, she replied: "My kids just died and I'm being f***ing arrested".

A psychiatrist who diagnosed Rose with "recurrent depressive disorder" said there is "clear evidence of deterioration in mental state in the weeks leading up to the incident", prosecutor Ms Lumsdon told the jury. Rose, who worked as a carer for the elderly was signed off as not fit for work in April 2021.

Social services were involved with the children between November 2018 and January 2020, and July and September 2021. They then contacted Rose after an incident had occurred at school, but "disengaged" after the mum-of-four failed to attend meetings.

In her closing speech, Laurie-Anne Power KC, defending, said Rose's mental health was badly impacted by the Covid-19 lockdown. She said: "It was the most difficult time in our living memory,' said Ms Power. She had to deal with that on her own. If you take a vulnerable alcoholic, lock them in a pub and leave them there, there is an overwhelming likelihood that they will go back to drink.

"If you lock a single mum with a personality disorder, who suffers from depression, PTSD, and any number of various mental health conditions, with four children and withdraw from her professional support and intervention that previously had you can be sure that what is likely to happen is that her mental health will suffer, her routine will suffer. Even in the event that help was declined, it is not beyond the wit of man to make sure that help is enforced."

Rose was found her guilty of the manslaughter of her four sons after the jury deliberated for three hours and 22 minutes and reaching a majority of 11 to one. She was found not guilty of child cruelty. Judge Mark Lucraft KC said it was a "tragic case" as he adjourned sentencing to November 15 and granted Rose continued bail.