Social services tiptoed around a mother whose four sons died in a house fire full of rubbish while she was out shopping.
Deveca Rose left her two sets of twins in the locked terraced house while she went to Sainsburys when the fatal blaze broke out on the evening of December 16 2021.
The children were locked into the house in Sutton, south London when Rose went shopping.
Neighbours heard the children crying out help and they battered the door down trying to get to them, but were beaten back by the flames.
By the time the fire was brought under control by firefighters, the boys were found under their beds, and were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.
The boys father, Dalton Hoath, has said after the children were rushed to hospital it became clear that all four of my children had not made it and that my world had been turned upside down.
Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, died alongside their brothers, Leyton and Logan Hoath at their home in Sutton, south London, in December 2021
The 30-year-old defendant denied but was convicted of four charges of manslaughter
The boys father, Dalton Hoath, has said after the children were rushed to hospital it became clear that all four of my children had not made it and that my world had been turned upside down
Rose denied but was convicted of four charges of manslaughter by an Old Bailey jury today by majority verdict of 11-1 on each count after deliberating for three hours and 22 minutes. She was cleared of one charge of child cruelty.
The Old Bailey heard how social services had been repeatedly involved with the children but did not follow up on planned work because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Laurie-Anne Power KC, defending, said Roses mental health had been deteriorating but social services had tiptoed around her.
There was a clear decline in all aspects of Ms Roses life. Her physical appearance, the home, her relationships, all those things we see she neglected, the barrister said.
But turning on the social services, she added: 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.
The fire broke out inside the Sutton home in South London on December 16 2021.
Either a cigarette or a lit tea light set fire to the sofa and the blaze spread quickly in the rubbish strewn across the floor.
Investigators found the childrens beds were dismantled and Rose was living in one room with them, using buckets as toilets.
The bath was full of rubbish, the garden was also overflowing with junk, excreta was smeared on the walls and the children had not been to school for three months, the court heard.
Social services were engaged with the children between November 2018 and January 2020 and July and September 2021.
The boys father who was not living with them at the time of the fire, described them as young, boisterous lads who were well mannered, well behaved and loved
Firefighters carried the four boys from the burning building but they were all declared dead a short time later
They contacted her again after an incident at school but disengaged after Rose failed to attend meetings.
In her closing speech, Laurie-Anne Power KC, defending, the Covid-19 lockdown badly impacted Rose.
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.
On the night of the fire, Rose had claimed she left the children with a woman called Jade but police found no evidence she actually existed.
Dalton Hoath, the boys father who was not living with them at the time of the fire, described them as young, boisterous lads who were well mannered, well behaved and loved.
Mr Hoath said: After being taken to the hospital it became clear that all four of my children had not made it and that my world had been turned upside down.
He said he was aware Rose had left the boys alone once or twice before the fire to go to a shop around 20 metres away from the house.
He added that he was not aware she had left them for any length of time or for any reason other than to get supplies and that, overall, she had been a good mum.
Rose, pictured outside the Old Bailey, was found guilty following a trial at the Old Bailey
Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, said: This is a very tragic case, the outcome is very tragic for the wider family and for the defendant.
Rose spent most of her trial watching from a videolink at home after being hospitalised due to her physical health and did not give evidence.
The jury only saw her while they were being sworn in as Rose sat wailing in the dock.
The court heard how even family members were unwelcome at Roses home and were not allowed to go beyond the front room.
When they asked to use the toilet they were told to go to a Tescos down the road.
Some of the boys had even resorted to using their schoolbag as a toilet and teachers could the smell urine in them.
Neighbours had reported a problem with rats as Rose allowed bags of rubbish to pile up outside.
Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon, KC, earlier told the jury: On Thursday 16 December 2021 at about 6.30pm Ms Rose left the children unattended, say the Crown, and went to Sainsburys.
While she was away, neighbours realised the house was on fire. The children could be heard inside. The door was shut.
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.
Firemen noted that there was rubbish all over the floor of the house and human excrement. There was a mattress and a door lying on the stairs.
Lifesaving attempts were made on the pavement outside, but there was nothing that could be done.
The boys were taken by ambulance to hospital. At hospital they were all formally pronounced dead.
Rose screamed not my boys before being arrested at the hospital and not being allowed to visit her second set of twins.
When told she was being arrested she said: Mmm, every single one of my kids are dead.
Neglect? I wasnt on my own, but okay.
When told she would have to be handcuffed to preserve forensic evidence on her hands she said: My kids just died and Im being f--ing arrested.
The childrens paternal great grandmother said she was aloof and haphazard and seemed in a world of her own.
Deveca Rose rejected offers of help from the family and from social services and was at pains to ensure no one discovered the conditions in which she lived with the children.
Susan Hamilton was working as a health visitor for Sutton Council assigned to Rose and her children between 12 November 2018 until 20 January 2020, the court heard.
She was not convinced the changes that were necessary were going to be activated, said Ms Hamilton.
The household remains chaotic. There have been improvements but it is not clear that those improvements will be sustained in the long run.
In her words, nothing was done.
Rose claimed Jade was her lesbian lover and they only communicated on the dating app Taimi. She said she lost all contact with her after the fire.
She gave the police differing descriptions of the woman and a false phone number.
Rose told police: I hate social services with a passion.
You guys might see that as struggling, I see it as organised chaos.
Ive got four kids and one toilet so they would use buckets.
I was keeping stuff in the bath because I needed to rinse all of that stuff, you cant throw it in the bins like that.
It was organised chaos. I had an airfryer, and toastie machine, I didnt use the oven.