Derby House Fire: Mick and Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley Guilty of Manslaughter

The parents of the six children killed in a house fire in Derby have been found guilty of their manslaughter.

Mick and Mairead Philpott, aged 56 and 31 respectively, were found guilty of six separate manslaughter charges following the blaze at their home in Derby in May 2012. A third suspect, Paul Mosley, 46, was also found guilty of six counts of manslaughter.

All three denied the charges. They will be sentenced on 3 April.

During the trial at Nottingham Crown Court, the jury heard how Philpott had planned to be "hero and a victim" by purposely starting the blaze and then rescuing the children.

The defendants were accused of starting the fire in an attempt to frame Philpott's mistress, 28-year-old Lisa Willis, who had previously been living at the property with her five children - four of them fathered by Philpott - as part of a custody battle.

The court heard how the Philpotts' home was not a conventional one, with three adults and 11 children all living together. Willis eventually moved out of the home with her children three months before the deadly blaze.

The fire broke out hours before Philpott was due to face Willis in court for a custody hearing.

Assisnt chief constable Steve Cotterill said: "The jury has clearly taken their deliberations extremely seriously to arrive at this verdict.

"Officers and police staff from Derbyshire Constabulary and the East Midlands Major Crime Unit have worked tirelessly with the CPS on this investigation during the last 10 months.

"This has to be one of, if not the most, upsetting cases any of us has ever investigated."

Covert recordings of the couple inside a police van gave officers extra evidence to support the case against them.

Sticking to the story?

One of the recordings of the pair revealed Philpott asking his wife: "Are we sticking to the story?

He continues: "Have they got any evidence on you? They've got nothing on me. Nothing."

The recordings also show the Philpott's going over their alibis with each other, including how many times Philpott went up a ladder in his attempts to save the children.

Petrol was found on the clothing of all three defendants and also in the U-bend of the kitchen sink.

Dawn Bestwick, the sister of Philpott, said the family believed "justice has been served".

"This past year has been a very difficult time for our family as we have had to come to terms with what Michael, Mairead and Paul Mosley have done," she said.

"We can now attempt to move on and our six angels can rest in peace."

Crown Prosecution Service advocate Samantha Shallow described the crime as "a plan that went disastrously and tragically wrong".

Shallow added: "Today's verdict shows that the children died as a result of the actions of Michael and Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley when they set the fire. It was started as a result of a plan between the three of them to turn family court proceedings in Mr Philpott's favour. It was a plan that went disastrously and tragically wrong.

"This has been a challenging and harrowing case to prosecute. I am grateful that so many people from the local community came to court and gave evidence. This cannot have been easy.

"Amid all the details of the defendants' personal lives that have come out in court, it should not be forgotten that at the heart of this case were the deaths of six innocent children."

Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, all died in the fire at their home. The eldest, Duwayne, 13, died three days later in hospital.

READ:
Derby Philpott Arson: Funeral of Six Children Killed Held [Photos]

Derby House Fire: Tearful Mick Philpott Calls for Justice for Six Murdered Children [VIDEO]