Fire deaths - police rule out arson (From Chelmsford Weekly News)

Fire deaths - police rule out arson

8:35pm Sunday 29th November 2009

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Detectives investigating a flat blaze that killed a mother and her "beautiful" three-year-old girl have ruled out arson.

Tara Mallon, 35, and her daughter Phoebe were found in their second-floor flat in Earlsfield, south-west London, on Friday night.

But despite it emerging that a fire had started at the property at the same time last year, the latest incident was not believed to be suspicious, Scotland Yard said.

A Met police spokesman said officers were still waiting for the results of post-mortems carried out yesterday at St George's Hospital, Tooting.

"Officers from Wandsworth investigated and are now satisfied the fire is non-suspicious," the police spokesman said.

Neighbours on Willow Tree Close - a quiet cul-de-sac - told how the alarm had been raised after a woman living in the flat below saw a "huge red glow."

Patricia Robson, a resident in her 60s who lives opposite, said of the daughter: "She was a beautiful little blonde girl. It is a tragedy. I did not see the fire last night but there was a lot of smoke later. Officers who visited me yesterday had not established that anyone was in the flat."

A 25-year-old neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she saw Ms Mallon's partner return home in his four-wheel drive Mercedes several hours after the blaze.

She said: "Police officers greeted him and took his keys out of the car. I was standing outside and saw him bend over as the policeman spoke to him. I was told that he was taken away by police later."

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said the bodies were found in the flat's bedroom. Crews from Wandsworth, Tooting, Battersea and Wimbledon attended.

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