Teens accused of killing pensioner Josephine Smith in Romford ‘arson attack’ appear in court

Josephine Smith (Met Police/PA)
MET POLICE
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Two teenagers accused of killing an 88-year-old pensioner in a fire at her east London home have appeared at the Old Bailey for the first time.

Kai Cooper, 18, and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified, are accused of the manslaughter of Josephine Smith on October 28 last year.

Mrs Smith was pronounced dead after the Met Police, paramedics, and London Fire Brigade were called out to a fire at her home in Queens Park Road, Romford about 10.15pm.

The teenage defendants are both accused of arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered. A new charge of affray, relating to the alleged letting off of fireworks on the same evening, was added on Monday.

Cooper appeared at court via videolink from HMP Thameside, having been held in custody since he was charged in early April and moved to the prison last Thursday.

Flowers outside a house in Queens Park Road in Romford where Josephine Smith was killed in a fire (Ian West/PA Wire)
PA Wire

His co-defendant, who cannot be named due to his young age, was accompanied to the Old Bailey by his father.

Members of Mrs Smith’s family watched the hearing from the well of the courtroom, as neither defendant was asked to enter pleas on Monday.

They are due to return to court for a plea hearing on April 1.

Judge Angela Rafferty QC remanded Cooper, from Leatherhead, in custody until the next court date, and said a trial of the case would have to be heard at a different crown court.

The 16-year-old, of Southend, had been on conditional bail but was remanded into custody on Monday morning. His bail position was due to be reconsidered later on Monday.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in