Man in court over fire death
A man has appeared in court charged with murder after a south-east London mother was killed and her 17-month-old son was left fighting for his life in a suspected arson attack.
Deanne Sparks, 39, also known as Dina Sharpe, died in the blaze in a fourth-floor flat in Southwark on Sunday.
The child was rescued from his dead mother's arms but remains in a critical condition.
Stephen John Singer, 36, of Prospect House, Gaywood Estate, south-east London, was charged with murder, attempted murder and arson, and appeared before Tower Bridge Magistrates' Court.
He was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on November 12.
Following the blaze, police hailed neighbours who rescued the toddler from the arms of his mother as "heroes".
Residents described how three or four of them used baseball bats to break into the burning home at the time of the fire.
Metropolitan Police Det Chief Insp Carl Mehta said: "It really is an act of pure heroism that ordinary residents, acting on impulse with little regard for their own lives, made this rescue attempt."
The child was taken to a specialist burns unit.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2008, All Rights Reserved.
The full article contains 215 words and appears in Press Association newspaper.
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Last Updated:
07 August 2008 11:10 AM
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Source:
Press Association
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Location:
The Press Association Newsdesk
