MUM: ‘MY SON’S STILL IN THERE!’
DEADLY ARSON ATTACK PROBED Anguish over tragic Joel, 7
POLICE launched a murder probe after a seven-year-old boy died in a horrific house fire.
Joel Urhie was found inside his home after it was targeted in a suspected arson attack.
His mum Sophie, who jumped from an upstairs window with her daughter Sarah, was heard wailing: “My son is inside, my son is inside.”
Around 35 firefighters tackled the blaze in Deptford, south-east London, after it broke out around 3.30am yesterday.
Police believe it was started deliberately.
At the scene of the fire, dad John Urhie, 54, described his son as a “very lovely boy who was just loving life”.
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Mr Urhie, who does not live at the property, said: “It’s terrible – the pain we cannot forget.
“I went to Lewisham hospital and the others are fine.
“I came [to the house] because I need to see the body.”
Mr Urhie shared his photographs of the “shy” schoolboy dressed as a fireman.
Mum-of-three Sophie, 48, known as Efe to pals, is a nurse who was originally from Nigeria.
She was being treated in the University Hospital Lewisham yesterday along with her daughter.
Friends said Sophie had suffered a broken hip and burns, while Sarah, 19, had injured her ankle.
The mum also has a son Samuel, 21, who does not live at the family home.
Joel’s aunt Ruth Urhie told the Daily Star the boy had always been “full of life”. She added: “He called me ‘big aunty’.”
Family friend Grace Gbenedio, 56, held Sophie after she jumped from the window.
She told her: “My son is inside, my son is inside.”
Police, firefighters and gas engineers were last night still searching the property for clues. Last night a Metropolitan Police spokesman said no arrests have been made and there have been no suspects so far.
Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan said: “We’re treating this as a murder investigation.
“We believe that the fire was started deliberately but at this stage I am unable to go into any further detail due to operational reasons.”