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| Mick and Mairead Philpott started fire that killed their six children, court told | Mick and Mairead Philpott started fire that killed their six children, court told |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 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. | 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 fatal fire at their semi-detached home in Victory Road, Derby, on 11 May last year. | Mick and Mairead Philpott allegedly started the fatal fire at their semi-detached home in Victory Road, Derby, on 11 May 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. | 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 Willis. Another child was Willis's with a different father. | A total of 11 children also lived in the property – six were those of Mick and Mairead Philpott, while four were his children with Willis. Another child was Willis's with a different father. |
| Mick and Mairead Philpott's children – Jade, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13 – all died in the fire which engulfed their home as they slept in their beds. | |
| The couple, and a third defendant, Paul Mosley, 46, have all denied six separate counts of manslaughter in relation to the deaths. | The couple, and a third defendant, Paul Mosley, 46, have all denied six separate counts of manslaughter in relation to the deaths. |
| At the start of their trial at Nottingham crown court on Tuesday, prosecutor Richard Latham QC told the jury of six men and six women that the Philpotts, Willis, and the 11 children had all lived in the house together until 11 February last year. | At the start of their trial at Nottingham crown court on Tuesday, prosecutor Richard Latham QC told the jury of six men and six women that the Philpotts, Willis, and the 11 children had all lived in the house together until 11 February last year. |
| He said the fire, three months later, was no accident and had been started using petrol in the hallway of the house. | He said the fire, three months later, was no accident and had been started using petrol in the hallway of the house. |
| "We say that this was a plan that went horribly wrong and resulted in total tragedy," Latham said. | "We say that this was a plan that went horribly wrong and resulted in total tragedy," Latham said. |
| Latham told jurors they were trying and would ultimately decide the verdict of the case on evidence that the actions of the defendants to any "sober and reasonable person" were unlawful because starting the fire with the children in the house would put them at substantial risk. | Latham told jurors they were trying and would ultimately decide the verdict of the case on evidence that the actions of the defendants to any "sober and reasonable person" were unlawful because starting the fire with the children in the house would put them at substantial risk. |
| "This is not a murder trial," he said. | "This is not a murder trial," he said. |
| "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. | "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." | "They are criminally responsible for the deaths as a result of setting the fire for some motive, for some other perceived advantage." |
| Latham told the jury it was a "whodunnit trial". | |
| He said the jurors had to decide if the fire was an inside job or was started by someone else. | |
| Plans of Victory Road and the house where the Philpotts lived were shown to the jury. | |
| They heard that the three-bedroom semi-detached house, owned by Derby Homes, had a games room with a full-length snooker table and a conservatory. | |
| A caravan and a minibus were parked in the driveway, blocking access down the side of the house at the time of the fire. | |
| Latham said that while Willis and her children were living at the house most of the children normally slept upstairs while Mairead Philpott slept in either the living room or the conservatory. | |
| Mick Philpott slept in a caravan outside with Willis. | |
| The adults had a sexual relationship but Philpott had often said he was unhappy with his wife, jurors heard. | |
| "He often expressed the view he preferred his relationship with Lisa Willis to that he had with his wife Mairead," Latham said. | |
| "He had spoken of divorcing Mairead – not separating from her but divorcing her – in order that he could make Lisa Willis his wife. | |
| "He wanted to change their status but he wanted them both to still live in the house." | |
| Willis had become unhappy with the relationship, 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 setup unacceptable. | |
| "She knew that to simply announce to Michael Philpott that she found the relationship setup unacceptable would provoke a singularly unpleasant reaction. | |
| "He was the one who made the decisions, the women did not." | |
| On Saturday 11 February, 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," Latham said. | |
| He said Philpott was deeply troubled that 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, Willis and Philpott had been due in court to discuss residency of the children. | |
| The trial continues. |