Derby house fire was started deliberately, police say - The Guardian

A house fire last week that led to the deaths of six children in Derby is believed to have been deliberately started, police said on Monday.

Five children aged between five and 10 died in the early hours of Friday after the blaze at a property on Victory Road in the Allenton area, while a sixth child died in hospital overnight on Sunday.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill of Derbyshire police said: "After further forensic examination we believe the fire was not accidental, initial indications are that it was deliberately set and, as a result, six children have been unlawfully killed."

Results of postmortem examinations revealed that the five younger children – Jade Philpott, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, seven, Jessie, six and Jayden, five – died as a result of smoke inhalation.

A cause of death has yet to be established in the case of Duwayne, 13 who died overnight on Sunday in the Birmingham Children's Hospital with his parents at his bedside.

Assistant Chief Constable Cotterill added: "The forensic examination is still continuing. A number of specialists, including fingerprint officers, have been examining the scene and this is likely to continue for some time.

"We've yet to speak in detail with Mr and Mrs Philpott and that will happen sometime this week as, understandably, the couple are distraught at the loss of their six children."

A 28-year-old woman and 38-year-old man, both from Derby, were arrested by officers investigating the deaths but were released without charge.

The children were asleep in their beds upstairs when the fire broke out at the semi-detached house in the early hours of the morning.

Their father, Mick Philpott, became the focus of media attention in 2007 after asking for a larger house to share with his wife Mairead, girlfriend Lisa, and eight of the 17 children he is said to have.