Prosecutors dropped manslaughter charges against the mother, brother, and a family friend of Leah Casson, the teenager who died in a house fire in North Shields in 2023. The decision came as their trial was due to begin at Newcastle Crown Court, after a prosecution expert changed their stance on the cause of the blaze.
Fire and Investigation
Emergency services were called to the property in Vicarage Street in the early hours of January 16, 2023. At least five fire engines, police, the North East Ambulance Service, and personnel from Northern Gas Networks and Northern Powergrid attended the scene. The fire forced neighbouring residents to evacuate as flames ripped through the terraced house.
Northumbria Police launched an investigation, initially treating the blaze as suspected arson. It was later confirmed that Leah Casson, 18, died in the fire.
Charges and Trial
Arrests were made a couple of months after the fire, but charges against Leah's mother, Danielle Johnson, 44, her brother, Louis Casson, 20, and Calvin Smith, 38, were not brought until 2025 due to the complexity of the investigation. All three denied the charges and a trial date was set.
At Newcastle Crown Court this week, Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said the manslaughter case relied on proving the defendants played a role in diverting electricity, which was a dangerous act that caused the fire. He said joint reports from two experts, received last Thursday, led to a fundamental change in the prosecution's position.
Charges Dropped
Mr Wright told the court: "It raised a fundamental problem, which was whether or not there was a realistic prospect of conviction. Whether the Crown could realistically establish the cause of the fire was the electricity meter or a third party involvement or arson of some type."
He added that the Crown expert had moved to a position where they could not exclude arson as a possibility and excluded an arc flash event as having sufficient combustible effect to have caused the fire. "That's a fundamental change in their report," he said. "As a prosecutor, I have a responsibility to keep under constant review whether there remains a realistic prospect of conviction."
Johnson and Smith admitted abstracting electricity. Johnson was sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge. Mr Justice Cotter said: "Clearly the background to the case is tragic, the loss of your daughter. I take that into account." Smith's sentencing was adjourned for pre-sentence reports, and he will be sentenced on October 22. Louis Casson was cleared of all charges.
