a sex act. Philpott and Mairead were arrested on suspicion of murder on 28 May 2012. After seeking additional time for questioning, the couple were charged with murder on 30 May 2012. A discarded petrol container and glove had been found near the house, and in November forensic investigators discovered that the clothes of the Philpotts and Mosley had petrol on them. On 5 November, Mosley was arrested and charged with murder; this charge was later downgraded to manslaughter. Mosley had previously been arrested in the enquiry and was released on bail in June 2012. The charges against Philpott and Mairead were also reduced to manslaughter, as it was decided that the couple had not intended to kill their children. Instead, they had wanted to frame Willis for the fire, win back custody of the children and continue to claim benefits for them. Trial and sentencing The trial commenced at Nottingham Crown Court on 12 February 2013. Richard Latham QC led the prosecution on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service. Anthony Orchard QC led the defence for Philpott, Sean Smith QC led the defence for Mairead, and Benjamin Nolan QC led the defence for Mosley. On 2 April, Mick and Mairead, along with Mosley, were each found guilty of the manslaughter of the six children. Sentencing was due to take place on 3 April, but was postponed as the judge, Mrs Justice Thirlwall, wanted more time to consider the sentence. Philpott's previous criminal convictions, which had not been revealed to the jury, were disclosed at this point. On 4 April, Philpott was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum tariff of fifteen years, while Mairead and Mosley were each sentenced to seventeen years (of which they would need to serve at least half before any release on licence). On 29 November, an appeal by Mairead against the length of her sentence (not the verdict) was heard. The grounds of the appeal were mainly that Mairead was under the control of her husband and could not exercise a free choice in her conduct; the appeal was dismissed. Mairead was released on licence in 2020 after serving half of her sentence. See also Penhallow Hotel fire – unsolved arson attack that occurred in Newquay, Cornwall in August 2007 References 1956 births 20th-century English criminals 21st-century English criminals British Army soldiers British arsonists British people convicted of attempted murder English people convicted of