Derby Fire: Philpotts Face Jail Over Deaths

A couple, who killed their six children in a house fire, are due to be jailed after both were convicted of manslaughter.

Mick and Mairead Philpott triggered the blaze at their Derby home in the early hours of May 11 last year in a bid to frame Lisa Willis, Philpott's former girlfriend.

Philpott was fighting a custody battle with Miss Willis, who had lived with the couple and slept with Philpott on alternate nights while living at the house.

Both women were said to have lived happily with one another for a decade but Miss Willis left Philpott three months before the deadly fire taking her five children, four of whom were fathered by him.

Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13 - all died as a result of the petrol-fuelled blaze that tore through their three-bed council house in Victory Road.

Jurors at Nottingham Crown Court returned guilty verdicts on manslaughter charges for the pair and co-defendant Paul Mosley, 46, after an eight-week trial.

Many sobbed and hugged one another while Mairead Philpott's sister, Bernadette Duffy, clapped her hands and shouted out: "You murdering b*******.

"You heard me. I told you didn't I?"

Back (L-R) Duwayne and John, Front (L-R) Jack, Jessie, Jade and Jayden

Mick Philpott, 56, stood in the dock staring straight ahead with his hands clasped in front of him as the verdicts were delivered.

He shook his head and his wife looked down at the floor and fought back tears while clutching a tissue in both her hands.

Before leaving the dock Philpott crossed himself and was heard to say: "It's not over yet."

During his evidence he appeared emotional and slumped forward sobbing in the witness box as the court was played the frantic 999 call he and his wife made on the night of the fire.

The trio had planned to get all six children into one bedroom at the back of the house so Philpott could play the hero and rescue them with a ladder stationed in preparation.

Mick Philpott tried to frame his former partner over the blaze

Brothers Jamie and Darren Butler, who live on the same road as the Philpotts, described how the Philpotts did nothing to help rescue their children and stood like "a couple of statues".

Mick Philpott, who was known locally as Shameless Mick for his lifestyle, tried to frame his former partner over the blaze

He had previously told police that Miss Willis was harassing him and had threatened the family.

The fire was far bigger than the trio expected and unemployed Philpott - father of 17 children from five women - climbed up a ladder at the back of the house to discover he was unable to smash a large enough hole in the bedroom window.

Firefighters found the youngsters' lifeless bodies in each of the three upstairs bedrooms.

Yesterday Sky News revealed that Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill of Derbyshire Police suspected Philpott as he watched his reactions during a news conference.

He said that officers had been surprised when Philpott wanted to speak to the media five days after fire.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill's disbelief captured on camera

Mr Cotterill said his misgivings were betrayed in a single photograph, taken as he sat alongside Mick, and his wife Mairead.

He said: "In one particular photograph, what I saw there was a guy who was sat there pretending to cry and I've described it as a bit of a sham of a performance and I didn't believe that he was genuinely overcome by grief.

"I thought he was playing to the cameras."

Mr Cotterill said prior to the press conference Philpott seemed "overly excited by the prospect of going to face the media given what had taken place and given that he had lost six of his children in that fire".

He said that following the conference Philpott had "inappropriately" asked a family liaison officer to marry him and faked a faint.

It was a comment echoed by the mortuary manager at a Derby Royal Hospital, who said that Philpott had pretended to faint when he saw his children's bodies for the first time.

Philpott was keen to play out his 'grief' in front of the media

Marie Smith, said that Philpott also asked for alcohol and engaged in horseplay with a police liaison officer days after the tragedy while bemused staff looked on.

She said that Philpott had apparently fainted and did not respond to her attempts to bring him round until she threatened to call for medical assistance.

She said: "He still didn't respond so I instructed a member of staff to call a doctor for assistance and as soon as I said, he woke up, he recovered very, very quickly ..."

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