A couple accused of killing their six children in a house fire started the blaze as part of a "plan that went horribly wrong", a court has heard.
Mick and Mairead Philpott allegedly started the fire at their semi-detached home in Victory Road, Derby, on May 11 last year.
The family shared an unconventional lifestyle. Philpott, 56, his 31-year-old wife Mairead, and his mistress Lisa Willis, 28, all lived in the same house together.
A total of 11 children also lived in the property. Six were those of Mick and Mairead Philpott, while four were his children with Ms Willis. Another child was Ms Willis's by another man.
Mr and Mrs Philpott's children - Jade, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13 - all died after the fire which engulfed their home as they were sleeping.
The scene of the fire last May The couple, along with a third defendant, 46-year-old Paul Mosley, deny six separate counts of manslaughter in relation to the deaths.
At the start of their trial, prosecutor Richard Latham QC said the Philpotts, Ms Willis and the 11 children had all lived together until February 11 last year.
He said the fire, three months later, was no accident and had been started using petrol in the hallway of the house.
Pointing out the Philpotts were not accused of murder, he told the jury: "This was a plan that went horribly wrong and resulted in total tragedy.
Floral tributes laid outside the house "What is alleged is that these children died as a result of the unlawful acts of these defendants who, we say, were acting together in a joint enterprise, setting a house fire.
"They are criminally responsible for the deaths as a result of setting the fire for some motive, for some other perceived advantage."
Mr Latham said that while Ms Willis and her children were living in the three-bedroom house in Victory Road most of the children usually slept upstairs.
Mrs Philpott slept in either the living room or the conservatory while Mr Philpott slept in a caravan outside with Ms Willis.
The children's funeral Ms Willis had become unhappy with the relationship, Mr Latham said, but had not expressed her feelings to Philpott because she was worried about his reaction.
"Unbeknown to Michael Philpott, Lisa Willis got to the point where she found the whole domestic set-up unacceptable.
"She knew that to simply announce to Michael Philpott that she found the relationship set-up unacceptable would provoke a singularly unpleasant reaction. He was the one who made the decisions, the women did not."
On Saturday February 11, Ms Willis told him she was taking her children swimming and did not return home, the jury heard.
"We say that this event was the catalyst for everything that was to follow," Mr Latham said.
He said Philpott was deeply troubled by the fact Ms Willis had left him and taken his children. "He wanted the children back with or without her. He just wanted the children."
Court proceedings began in due course and on the morning of the fire, which happened in the early hours, Ms Willis and Philpott had been due in court to discuss residency of the children.
The trial, at Nottingham Crown Court, is expected to last six weeks.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Derby House Fire: Children's Parents On Trial
Dengan url
http://terjunbebasopan.blogspot.com/2013/02/derby-house-fire-childrens-parents-on.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Derby House Fire: Children's Parents On Trial
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Derby House Fire: Children's Parents On Trial
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar