Unfortunately, there are tons of reports of mothers being prosecuted in the injury or death of their children. The latest case comes from a household in London where four little boys died after being stuck in a house fire, which begs one question: Where was their mother?
Bryson and Kyson, 4-year-old twins, along with their brothers Logan and Leyton, both three years old, were found among the debris of a home on Collingwood Road back in December of 2021, just before Christmas. Authorities from the Metropolitan Police Department said moments before, a witness driving by the home noticed it had been in flames. The driver then alerted a neighbor who kicked in the front door and attempted to save the children.
However, the fire took over the engulfed home, preventing them from being able to retrieve the children, authorities said. By the time the fire department showed up and controlled the flames, the boys were discovered unconscious in an upstairs bedroom. Authorities say despite life-saving measures from the medics, the children died at the hospital due to the inhalation of fire fumes.
You might be wondering at this point, where was their mother? Devaca Rose was reported to have left her children alone in the house to go shopping, police said. She told authorities she left her children in the care of a woman named “Jade.” However, when authorities went to search the house for the mystery woman, she was not found.
Police considered the passing driver to be “Jade” but her description didn’t match that of what the neighbor reported. It also didn’t match the description Rose gave. After scanning surveillance footage and sifting through Rose’s phone data, they still couldn’t figure out who the woman was.
Police concluded that Rose left her children alone with a burning cigarette, candle or tealight in the living room which potentially sparked the fire and she was slammed with charges.
“Deveca Rose was a mother who placed her own self-interest above the safety of her children. Had she not left the children to go shopping, she may have been able to put out the fire, or at the very least, got the children to safety. Instead of taking responsibility for her actions, she invented a story that was built around a babysitter whose very existence could not be confirmed,” said Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Townsend.
Rose was acquitted of child neglect but found guilty of manslaughter. She was sentenced on Jan. 24 to serve 10 years in prison.