Paul Mosley, a notorious child killer who was responsible for the deaths of six children in a house fire, has died.
The 58-year-old’s death was confirmed by a member of his own family and a relative of the six children whose lives he took. Mosley, along with Mick and Mairead Philpott, the parents of the victims, intentionally set their Allenton, Derbyshire home ablaze on 11 May 2012, leading to the tragic demise of the young ones.
After a gruelling seven-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Mosley and the Philpotts were found guilty of six counts of manslaughter.
Each of them played a part in the heartbreaking deaths of Duwayne Philpott, 13, his sister Jade, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jessie, six and Jayden, five, in what is considered one of Derby’s most horrific incidents.
The dreadful fire was orchestrated by Mick Philpott, father to five of the children, who involved his wife and friend Mosley in his plan to ignite the fire at the base of the stairs in their Victory Road home.
Philpott intended to play the hero by rescuing his children from the blaze. Despite valiant attempts by neighbours and emergency services, the five youngest children tragically lost their lives on the day of the fire.
Duwayne, who was not Philpott’s biological son, succumbed to his injuries days later when his life support was switched off.
In the 2013 trial, Justice Mrs Kate Thirlwell KC delivered a damning sentence to the trio, stating: “All three of you are responsible for the deliberate setting of that fire. All three of you are responsible for those deaths.
“I have not the slightest doubt that you, Michael Philpott, were the driving force behind this shockingly dangerous enterprise. You, Mairead Philpott, the mother of all of those children and you, Paul Mosley, a family friend, assisted him.
“It was a wicked and dangerous plan and you (Philpott) put it into effect with the assistance of your two codefendants. You poured petrol on the floor. Paul Mosley was responsible for removing the containers from your home.
“You (Philpott) set light to it and after a short while Mairead Philpott spoke to the emergency services, it became clear that there was no chance of a successful rescue and the children perished. You (Mosley) have young children of your own.
“You must have appreciated the appalling risk to which these six children were to be exposed when this fire was started in their home. And yet you were prepared to go along with the plan and to join in with it to please your then friend, Michael Philpott.
“I am quite sure that one of your tasks that night was to remove the petrol containers from the scene so that the attack would appear to have come from outside.
“You enjoyed the attention that you gained from your proximity to the fire. You boasted of being arrested and bailed for 6 counts of murder. You could not help telling people that this was a plan that had gone wrong.”
The judge sentenced Philpott, now 69, to life imprisonment while his wife, now 44, and Mosley were given 17-year sentences. While he continues to serve his sentence, she was released in 2020 under a new identity.
In 2021, Mosley was released midway through his sentence but was recalled and then later released again in November 2023.