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Subscribe to RSSParents arrested over deaths of six children in UK house fire. ITV News' Damon Green reports.
LONDON - The parents of six children killed in an arson attack on their home in Britain were arrested on suspicion of murder on Tuesday.
Mick Philpott, 55, and his wife Mairead, 31, were detained in connection with the attack on the house in Derby, in the English Midlands.
The victims, whose ages ranged from 13 to five, died after the blaze at the house in Victory Road, Allenton, on May 11.
Two weeks ago the couple broke down in tears at a press conference, just days after the incident:
The family once appeared on the British version of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
Click here for more coverage from Britain's ITV News
Derbyshire Police said a 55-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman from Derby were arrested on Tuesday morning but did not name them.
'Crucial information'
Jade Philpott, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, seven, Jessie, six, and Jayden, five, all perished in the blaze, while Duwayne Philpott, 13, died of his injuries in Birmingham Children's Hospital two days' later.
In a statement, Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill said: “I suspect there may still be people with crucial information who have not yet come forward to speak to us.
“In view of the arrests, I would urge anyone who may have been holding back, not felt comfortable to voice their concerns or not had the confidence, to do so now. They have my personal reassurance that we will deal with their information sensitively.
“We still need information to help us in this inquiry. The latest arrests are just one step further in the investigation. It is absolutely vital that if you know anything you think could help us, come forward now, do not wait any longer. It is important that we find justice for these six young children.”
A 28-year-old woman and 38-year-old man, both from Derby, were arrested earlier this month on suspicion of murder but were later released without charge, police said.
ITV News is the UK partner of NBC News.
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Leave a Comment:
Wow that was a whole lot of no information, another poorly written article.
RIP Jade, John, Jack, Jessie, Jayden, and Duwayne Philpott.
All MSNBC cares about it whether you click on the headline. They could care less if there is any substance to the story.
RIP children. The weakest of our civilization are usually the ones paying the highest price. Being a parent is probably the toughest and scariest endeavor I have ever faced in life but has extremely high rewards for those who go the distance. Ask for help when needed. There is always help available.
News is a time sensitive product. Many times an article may start of poorly as the story develops and more information comes while hopefully the author keeps updating it. As it is, I would agree, the article is poorly written and should be developed further.
I pray it was not the parents who did that... it is incomprehensible... :(
I hope so too Max^108....
If they didn't want children, then why were they popping them out on a yearly basis? Some people are just plain, sick, trash and shouldn't be using up oxygen.
@ UMGator - my first thought as well. If they didn't want kids, why did they have so many?? Birth control is pretty easy to figure out - and it's quite a bit more humane than murder! I'm very curious to hear why they did this. What a bizarre story.
@umgator, this article doesn't give most of the information on this family. i have been following this man's story for a few years now from british papers. he has 17, yep, 17 children. he has been in the news recently because he says his government-provided house wasn't big enough for his 17 kids. he wanted another, bigger house for free. until recently he lived with his wife and mistress. there is always an article about him and how much he loves his 17 children. they did arrest the ex-mistress, who he has several kids with, last week but then let her go. now they think it is him? i don't know what to think. this man leaves me speechless, really. if you want that many children, then get a job. he really fooled a lot of people if these allegations are true. so sad for all of his children, as they did not ask for this. those poor babies, rest in peace.
God save the children.
Amazing how on the Video the parents appear and sound as if they are crying yet not one tear is shed. So many questions? I hope the parents didn't do this to those six beautiful children. If they are involved, I hope they rot in prison.
Worst article today... Do you have to go to college to write for MSNBC? just curious.
D. Urbanski: No you don't have to go to college to write for MSNBC, you just have to swear allegance to "O". MSNBC is so biased.
Did you happen to notice the by-line, By ITV News. MSN published the article they did not write it. And if, as another posted stated, this man is in the "news" all the time, you can google his name and find out more.
Looks to me like the headline and article are just statements on whats happened, as much as they know, and quotes from the police, dont know what else they can state when its basically police quotes. l also noticed that there was a lot of eye dabbing and screwed up faces, but no tears, and how many parents could give a press conference after losing 6 children, didnt need to, then demand horse drawn carriages at that time, is that important, their loss no less whatever. But cant believe they did it deliberately, unthinkable, unbareable, did they do it for reasons, expecting to control it, and it got out of control, think theyre going by forensics, hope theyre wrong. Rot in hell more like.
The demeanor of the parents makes me very suspicious - they have the screwed up faces right but coudn't work up any tears - we've seen this before.... Also, why were they not harmed by the fire? Where were they? I pray for the souls of the children and that the police find who set the fire.
If you're sitting at your computer and you absolutely must have more information simply go up to your address bar and type BBC. UK (not US) and you'll have more information. And from the looks of it these people give scum a bad name.
they brought them in, and they took them out.
like real parents.
its a mutiny i see a mutiny!!
Those poor little ones having parents like these. They probably trusted them.
This is really going to screw up the size of their future welfare checks.
You forgot to mention that they also have 11 other children :/
Does anyone see tears while watching the video? I dont. I cant believe that these 2 could be evil enough to do this to their kids. There is really little information given as to why the parents were arrested. I just dont see tears. They could really be guilty.