‘Alarm bells’ raised by authorities before boys killed in house fire, court told
A discarded cigarette or upturned tea light sparked a blaze at their rubbish-strewn terraced home in Sutton, south London.
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“Alarm bells” were raised by authorities over a mother and her four young sons before the children died in a fire while home alone, a court has heard.
Deveca Rose, 29, is on trial over the deaths of her two sets of twins, Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, in December 2021.
A discarded cigarette or upturned tea light sparked a blaze at their rubbish-strewn terraced home in Sutton, south London, after Rose went on a trip to Sainsbury’s, jurors have heard.
On Monday, retired health visitor Susan Hamilton and social worker Georgia Singh told jurors of their concerns following interaction with the family.
Mrs Hamilton said she had visited Rose on five occasions, but only gained access to her home three times between November 2018 and January 20 2020.
On one occasion, Rose opened the door a fraction and said it was not a convenient time as she was in a hurry and getting ready for work, the court heard.
On Mrs Hamilton’s last visit, she noted some improvement to the home environment but it was still cluttered and dirty.
Cross-examining, defence barrister Laurie-Anne Power KC suggested the decline in the condition of the house and Rose’s mental health difficulties raised “alarm bells”.
She said: “She was 24. She had four children below the age of two and she was essentially looking after them at home with some help from family.
“There were high risk factors, alarm bells ringing, particularly when you go into the home and the home is in a filthy condition.”
Mrs Hamilton agreed but said there was no follow-up after her last meeting in January 2020 when she handed over the case upon her retirement.
Ms Power went on: “On your last visit you raise concerns. Although there had been some improvement they were not satisfactory. There was rubbish on the floor. Brown marks on the walls.
“You were unconvinced that those changes were consistent or were going to continue to improve. Something should have been done to make sure someone from your team or another team continued to offer support.”
Mrs Hamilton replied: “That was the plan but unfortunately we had Covid and it was not possible to visit face-to-face.”
But Ms Power asserted: “A vulnerable young woman with mental health issues with four young children living in conditions you yourself do not believe to be satisfactory. Covid did not prevent that continued oversight because there were conditions put in place to continue safeguarding vulnerable families at risk during Covid.”
The witness agreed but said she could not say why no-one from her team followed up on the case after she left.
Reflecting on her last visit, she agreed that Rose was “a woman who was trying her hardest with four very challenging children” and that she had seen her make time for each of them, giving them a hug and a kiss.
In July 2021, Ms Singh paid two visits to Rose following concern about the children’s behaviour at school, but repeated attempts to arrange more appointments ended in failure and the closure of the case.
Initially, Ms Singh found Rose’s front garden was messy with lots of rubbish, but the children were clean and tidy and wore matching white England shirts and shorts.
On her return days later, Rose appeared to be “manic”, smelled of body odour and did not appear to be looking after herself, the court heard.
The living conditions had worsened and Rose had told her that she had “dissociated” the day before, which made her faint, sleep and unable to focus.
Ms Singh asked three times to see the children but was told by Rose they were sleeping upstairs as she was ushered from the house, prompting her to relay her concerns to her manager.
Ms Singh’s repeated attempts to see the family again were unsuccessful and the case was closed in September 2021 due to the mother’s lack of “engagement”.
Ms Power said: “You have got a decline in her 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.
“It was not your decision to close the case but the reason you set out the concerns was because you yourself had those concern about Ms Rose and the boys.”
Ms Singh agreed but told jurors that her concerns had been dealt with by another social worker who had gone round later the same day as her last visit.
Rose, of Wallington, south London, has denied four counts of manslaughter and child cruelty and the trial continues.
On Monday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC told jurors that the defendant was attending the trial by video-link from home “on medical advice”.