After a fiery blaze on the night of May 11th, Mick and Mairead Philpott lost 6 of their 17 children who succumbed to smoke inhalation. Mick was praised by authorities on the scene for his heroic attempts to save the sleeping children, as the entire event took its tragic toll on the family and community at large. As the fire was later investigated it was alleged that it was started by petrol/gasoline, however, the actual motive has yet to be determined. The possibility is being looked into whether this could have been due to someone holding a grudge against the family, but as the inquiry continued, both parents were arrested on suspicion of murder. The community opened their hearts to the survivors and the parents actually went on television asking for support.

As the parents of these lost souls get ready to face the court system, one can only hope that they are not guilty of the alleged crime, because this would be a tragedy of the worse kind. The authorities must have strong reasons for thinking the way they are, otherwise it is doubtful that they would have been arrested, or even detained for that matter. A crime of this magnitude must not go unanswered, but it does beg the question, why? As the story goes, this family was being supported by taxpayers and it is possible that some people were simply upset that their taxes were being spent in this fashion, although I would hope that onlookers did not stoop to that level.