Three men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and the production of cannabis in connection with an explosion at a house in which two people including a seven-year-old boy were killed in Newcastle.
Northumbria police on Wednesday said two men in their 30s and one man in his 50s were in police custody. The arrests are in connection with the house explosion in the early hours of 16 October.
Archie York, six, and Jason Laws, 35, died in the blast and subsequent fire that tore through properties in Violet Close, Benwell.
Footage on social media showed flames billowing into the night sky, while drone pictures in the morning showed the extent of damage caused to the properties. Six other people were hospitalised and more than 120 nearby residents were unable to return to their homes.
Police said the three men had each been arrested “on suspicion of two counts of manslaughter and the production of a class B drug, namely cannabis”.
DCI Katie Smith, who is leading the investigation, thanked people for their support and cooperation. “This has been a truly tragic incident which resulted in the loss of two lives,” she said. “As a result of our ongoing inquiries, three men have today been arrested in connection with the explosion. Our investigation will remain ongoing as we seek to provide answers to what has happened.
“We would continue to ask people to avoid speculation surrounding this incident both online and in the community. Anyone with any information which could assist our inquiries should contact us as soon as possible if they have not already done so.”
Archie was described by his parents, Katherine and Robbie, as a boy who “lit up every room he went in, whether that was with his cheeky smile he was known for or some of his cheeky words”.
They said: “We are so broken as a family but Archie will live on in his baby brother, Finley, who is the spitting image of him. He might have been small but he had a heart of gold. Everyone loved him.”
The body of Laws, known as Jay, was found later in the day by teams going through debris at the scene of the explosion. He was described by his brother Joseph as “the best dad in the world”.
Police had said they expected the investigation to take some time due to the level of damage.
