The parents of six children who died in a house fire were today found guilty of their manslaughter.
Mick and Mairead Philpott were convicted by jurors at Nottingham Crown Court of the unlawful killing of the six siblings in the blaze at the family home in Victory Road, Derby, on May 11th last year.
A third defendant, 46-year-old Paul Mosley, was also found guilty of manslaughter by the jury following an eight-week trial.
All three will be sentenced tomorrow. As the jury delivered its verdicts in respect of
Philpott, he stood in the dock staring straight ahead with his hands clasped in front of him. As the court heard guilty verdicts in respect of his wife, he shook his head and she looked down at the floor and fought back tears while clutching a tissue in both her hands. Mosley showed no emotion as he heard the guilty verdicts. Before leaving the dock, as the judge rose for a short break after emotional outbursts in the packed public gallery,
Philpott, wearing a grey suit, white shirt and pink tie, crossed himself and was heard to say: “It’s not over yet.” People in the public gallery erupted in tears and shouts as the verdicts came in. Members of the public hugged one another as they sobbed.
A leading police officer who was part of the investigation into the fire branded the diabolical actions of the Philpotts as “stupid” and “shameful”. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill, of Derbyshire Police, said that not only was the setting of fire itself an “evil” act, but Mick Philpott’s reaction to it nothing more than a “sham”.
The children would not have been able to survive the intense heat and thick smoke, the fire service said. Thick, black smoke would have quickly filled each of the rooms from floor to ceiling, rendering Jade Philpott (10) and her brothers Duwayne (13), John (9), Jack (8), Jesse (6), and Jayden (5), unconscious in minutes.
From the moment the fire was set in the hallway in the early hours of May 11th, the flames would have surged up the uPVC front door, melting the plastic, and quickly progressed up the staircase with the help of varnished wood panelling. All the upstairs doors were open during the blaze, allowing the smoke to quickly flood the three bedrooms in which the youngsters slept. An open window at the top of the stairs created a “chimney effect”, helping to draw the flames and smoke up the stairs. The downstairs living room was also severely smoke-logged as the flames surged through on to the ceiling, embers falling onto the carpeted floor and setting light to the curtains.
Mick Philpott was described as controlling, manipulative, abusive, aggressive, and domineering during his trial. He treated the women in his life as possessions, wanted to play the system for maximum financial benefit, argued his case by using his fists, and was said to have joked about wanting enough children to make up the numbers for his own football team.
Philpott’s own barrister, Anthony Orchard QC, described him in court as being portrayed as a “benefits scrounger” following his television appearances in 2006 and 2007 on The Jeremy Kyle Show and a documentary made by MP Ann Widdecombe.
PA