An 88-year-old grandmother was killed following a prank involving a lit firework being put through her letterbox, jurors were told in a manslaughter trial.
As reported by BBC News, two teenage boys have been charged following the ordeal after Blitz survivor Josephine Smith was found dead at her home when a fire broke out.
Emergency services rushed to the residence in London, England, on October 18, with around 40 firefighters arriving just after 10PM following calls that a two-storey mid-terraced house was ablaze.
The elderly woman, who was on the first floor, was removed from the building but sadly died at the scene.
According to an autopsy, the Romford native died of smoke inhalation, authorities confirmed.
An 18-year-old man, Kai Cooper from Leatherhead, Surrey, and a 15-year-old Southend, Essex native - who has not been named in media reports - have been charged with manslaughter and arson.
The two teens, now 19 and 17, were also charged with assault by beating in connection with a separate offence on October 27 in Ilford.
The senior citizen was a mother to five children and grandmother to seven and had lived in Romford all of her life.
Paying tribute to her, Smith's family said she often spoke about life in London during the Second World War and specifically what it was like during Nazi Germany's bombing campaign between 1940 and 1941.
They said: "She was a fantastic, loving mum and gran. She was passionate about snooker and darts and was obsessed with Elvis Presley, visiting Graceland a few years ago."
The two young defendants were arrested three days after the fire on suspicion of murder.
A third person was arrested and later released, with authorities deciding not pursue additional action in connection with Smith's death. However, this third person, an 18-year-old woman, was given an adult caution relating to being in possession of class A and B drugs.
This week, jurors at London's Old Bailey criminal court were told that Cooper said at the time of the deadly attack: "People are going to get terrorised tonight." This was after he purchased the fireworks in Romford in October 2021.
The younger defendant put the firework in Smith's letterbox following encouragement and assistance by his older friend.
Cooper denies the charges against him.
The court heard that Cooper was with the young teen when he visited a firework store in Romford in the evening of October 28.
Cooper was said to have told the store owner: "I want something that is going to go far and quick." He then allegedly told his girlfriend during a phone call: "I'm trying to get fireworks, let them off at people. People are going to get terrorized tonight."
Cooper also purchased two lighters, the court heard.
The two adolescents then walked in the direction of Smith's home, where she lived alone and is believed to have been asleep at the time.
She "was entirely unknown" to the two males and died in a "tragically random incident", the Old Bailey jurors heard.
Our thoughts are with Smith's loved ones at this time.
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