Murder inquiry after boy dies in fire
A YOUNG boy who dreamt of being a firefighter died yesterday when a blaze was deliberately started at his home in what police are treating as murder.
Seven-year-old Joel Uhrie was killed, while his mother and elder sister jumped from the first floor as their property went up in flames in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
They were taken to hospital for treatment for non life-threatening injuries. When firefighters entered the house, in Deptford, south-east London, they found Joel’s body inside.
One line of police inquiry is whether the home was targeted in a gang-related revenge attack.
Yesterday, the family released a poignant photo of young Joel in a fireman’s uniform, as his death took London’s murder toll to more than 90 this year alone.
His father arrived distraught at the scene shortly after the fire took hold, only to be told his son had died.
John Uhrie, 54, who moved out of the family home about five years ago after separating from Joel’s mother Sophie, said: “It’s terrible, the pain we cannot forget. He played with everyone around here. He was a very lovely boy who was just loving life and it’s a terrible loss.”
A few hours later police announced that they were treating the death of Joel as murder.
Det Supt Jane Corrigan, of Lewisham Police, said: “An innocent seven-yearold boy has lost his life in what should have been the safest place for him, his home. 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. We have no idea what the motive for this attack was. We’ve got no suspects at this time.”
Joel’s mother was last night recovering in hospital with the couple’s 19-year-old daughter, Sarah, a first-year university student at Coventry University.
Grace Gbenedio, 56, a neighbour and family friend, said she rushed outside after hearing the screams.
She told how she held Mrs Urhie and asked her where Joel was, and she said: “My son is inside, my son is inside.”
Mrs Gbenedio added: “She was on the floor crying, ‘Help, help, help’.”