Advertisement

Father and sons jailed for life over flat fire murders

A father and his sons have been jailed for life with a total minimum term of 81 years for murdering two teenagers and a six-month-old baby in a flat fire.

Peter Eyre, 44, and sons Anthony, 22, and Simon, 24, were convicted at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday of setting a fire in a botched revenge attack in Langley Mill, Derbyshire.

View all 9 updates ›

Langley Mill Fire: New pictures released of trio found guilty of murdering two teenagers and baby in fatal flat fire

Peter Eyre, Anthony Eyre and Simon Eyre have been found guilty of murder Credit: Derbyshire Police

These are the first pictures released of a father and two sons found guilty of murdering two teenagers and a six-month old baby at a flat fire in Derbyshire.

Peter Eyre, 44, and his sons Anthony Eyre, 22, and Simon Eyre, 24, were found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court following a month-long trial.

Six-month-old Ruby-Grace Gaunt, her mother Amy Smith and her friend Edward Green, both 17, died in the blaze in North Street, Langley Mill, in June.

All three were accused of starting the fire as an act of revenge.

The court heard that the fire was started at the door of the building after the Eyres got into an argument with Mr Gaunt about his stolen moped, which he alleged had been taken by another one of Peter Eyre’s sons.

"This investigation has always been about getting justice for Amy, Ruby-Grace, Edward and their families.

What started as a dispute over a stolen moped very quickly escalated to the tragic events of that night in June. It was a foolish revenge attack gone terribly wrong.

Amy’s partner, Shaun, had accused one of Peter Eyre’s sons of stealing his moped so Eyre and his older sons, Anthony and Simon, sought revenge against him.

Nothing can bring Amy, Ed, and Ruby-Grace back but I hope these guilty verdicts will bring some sort of closure for their loved ones.

– Det. Supt Kate Meynell, Derbyshire Police

In 2008 Simon Eyre was convicted of arson for a fire involving a school minibus, ITV News Central can reveal.

All three men are expected to be sentenced tomorrow.

More on this story