Mavis Joy

Mavis Joy, Elizabeth Trott and Margaret Madge died in a fire at the Mount Radford Rest Home, an old people's home in St Leonards Road, Exeter in the early hours of 9 January 1986.

Twelve other residents, two members of staff and a fireman were also taken to hospital.

It was later rule that the fire had been set deliberately, but it couldn't be determined by who.

The rest home had been a private rest home with 31 residents, catering for the elderly and mentally sick.

It was thought that the fire started on the first floor of the two storey home at about 1.37am on 9 January 1986. Many of the residents had to be rescued by firemen using ladders.

It was soon after determined that the fire had started in the mattress of a spare bed on the first floor and suspicions were aroused as there was no obvious accidental cause.

At the inquest in November 1986 verdicts of unlawful killing aggravated by lack of care were returned.

The jury agreed that someone deliberately set light to the mattress on the first-floor landing of the home.

The inquest heard that two people were asked by the police whether they had started the fire, but they both denied it. They were a 30-year-old care assistant and a 41-year-old mentally disturbed resident.

However, the identity of the person that started the fire was stated as remaining a mystery.

The Coroner said:

A file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, but no charges were laid.

When the Coroner summed up, he told the jury that they could decide that the deaths were aggravated by a lack of care, but that they could not name anyone whose care was allegedly lacking.

The inquest heard that the 30-year-old care assistant, a former mental hospital patient, had brought suspicion on herself by changing her version of events, including details of where Margaret Madge had been in relation to the burning mattress. In particular, it was noted that after the fire, a box of matches was found on the stairs leading to her room.

It was also heard that the 41-year-old mentally disturbed resident had threatened to:

Only a few hours before the fire following a row over an apple.

The 41-year-old mentally disturbed resident was described as a heavy-smoker, and being given to stubbing her cigarettes out on the walls and furniture, and that she had been 'extremely agitated', and had left the building less than 15 minutes before the fire was discovered.

It was also heard that owners of the care home, a couple, had not seen a copy of the fire brigades recommendations about staff training, drills and evacuations, which should have been sent to the home.