Two teenagers who set a house on fire causing the death of an 88-year-old woman by throwing a firework through the letterbox have been jailed.
Josephine Smith, 88, is believed to have been asleep when a Megaburst firework set off two successive explosions which set her Romford home ablaze on October 28, 2021.
Kai Cooper, 19, had declared "people are going to get terrorised tonight" before buying fireworks and lighters and embarking on a crime spree in East London, reported MyLondon.
Alongside a 17-year-old, then aged 15, he was also heard to say he wanted "something that is going to go far and quick".
He had told his girlfriend, who gave evidence in the trial against him, "I'm trying to get fireworks, let them off at people", before he and the other youth began throwing fireworks towards people and cars.
The pair were complete strangers to Mrs Smith when they approached her home in Queens Park Road and caused the deadly fire.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, Cooper was found guilty of manslaughter and arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered, and has now been jailed for six years and six months.
He had previously admitted to an assault by beating charge which involved a young woman being struck with a pole in Ilford the day before Ms Smith's death.
Meanwhile, his accomplice was jailed for three years and eight months after pleading guilty to the same three offences.
Prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe KC had told jurors: "It is a tragically random incident. They acted as a team as they did this, with Kai handing [the other defendant] the fireworks before they were lit and Kai encouraging [other defendant] to do this. It was the precursor for the altogether more tragic events that occurred shortly afterwards."
Earlier that evening, the two youths had set off fireworks in the street, near a pub, takeaway shop and pub, near cars and towards pedestrians.
Ms Stonecliffe went on: "Two explosions occurred in swift succession, just like others that [the defendants] had set off in the street. They caused a fire to start, which burned through Mrs Smith's house.
"By the time the fire service had arrived, the property had filled with smoke and Mrs Smith was found, already sadly deceased, in the upstairs bedroom of the house. Efforts made to revive her were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at 11.09pm."
Family members of Mrs Smith, including her granddaughter, arrived at the scene as she was being carried from her address and witnessed the resuscitation efforts. Her cause of death was given as smoke inhalation.
Cooper and the youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had left the scene long before. On October 30, they returned to her address where fire crews and forensics remained before travelling onwards to a local park.
They were arrested a few days after the incident, with jurors told there was no dispute that Cooper had purchased the fireworks and lighters, had been present at the scene and that one had been placed through Mrs Smith's letterbox.
The court heard that on October 27, the duo had been involved in an attack on a young woman that was caught on video. In one 11-second clip, the younger teenager can be seen arguing with a woman while holding a long pole before "lashing out and striking her as she was putting her hands up to shield her face".
Cooper, who is filming the video, can be heard shouting "smoke her, smoke her". In a second video, the woman was on the ground while the teenager was using his feet to attack her while Cooper shouts: "Just one tap in her face bro, go on, do it, do it, one tap on her face, quick ting boot in her face."
Both Cooper and the 17-year-old youth come from unstable backgrounds, with the court hearing evidence that they also have ADHD and autism.
Sentencing them to prison, Judge Mark Dennis KC said: "The victim was a vulnerable person who was in no position to protect herself from the blaze that had been started in her home."
He said that the two had "mischief in mind" when they set out to buy fireworks that evening and added: "Your wanton and reckless conduct led to the death of a vulnerable and much-loved person."
The 88-year-old lady's son, Alan Smith. "Losing mum in such a horrible way has haunted our entire family. Mum was so loved by all of us and had many more happy years ahead of her. To see justice done today may hopefully help us to begin to move forward very slowly.
"The issue surrounding the sale of fireworks to the public is a fight that we intend to continue. In addition, the irresponsible way those fireworks were sold on that night haunts all of us that have seen the footage.
"The huge support we have had from the Harold Wood community has been amazing. The firefighters that attended that night are absolute heroes - they, without doubt, risked their lives to try and save mum. They all deserve so much more.
"Finally, the police have a lot of bad press at the moment, however, the professionalism, commitment, compassion, and warmth from every officer involved has been commendable. A first class team without whom this nightmare would have been so much harder. We really can't thank them enough."
Detective Inspector Louise Caveen from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said: “Josephine Smith died needlessly in her own home – the place where she should have been safest.
“As a result of our investigation we found that the fire was started by a lit firework having been posted through Mrs Smith’s letterbox by a boy, who was then, 15-years-old. He was encouraged to do so, by his co-defendant Cooper.
“The mindless acts of these males started a fire that had devastating consequences. I know that Mrs Smith’s family continues to struggle to come to terms with their loss and our thoughts are very much with them today.”
