Police have admitted a series of investigative failings after a woman died in a Harold Hill fire – but refused to address what her son called "suspicious circumstances" surrounding her death.

The Metropolitan Police Service has apologised to the family of Rosslyn Wolff, 74, who died when her home in Myrtle Road caught light.

But her son Gary Parkin said the complaint investigation failed to deal with the most important concerns he had raised, instead “passing the buck” to a coroner.

He claims inquest files reveal unexplained injuries to his mother's face and rearrangement of her furniture which effectively trapped her inside her burning house.

The Met has admitted a string of failures in a complaint investigation report, including:

  • Failing to call CID officers to the scene of Rosslyn’s death
  • Failing to take important witness statements
  • Failing to promptly open a crime report
  • Failing to keep Rosslyn’s family updated about the investigation

Rosslyn Wolff died after a fire erupted in her living room in Myrtle Road, Harold Hill, in January 2022Rosslyn Wolff died after a fire broke out in her living room in Myrtle Road, Harold Hill, in January 2022 (Image: Gary Parkin)

But the report does not answer Gary’s concerns that Rosslyn’s death might have been suspicious.

Public pre-inquest hearings have heard that the authorities say Rosslyn died of smoke inhalation on January 11, 2022, after a discarded cigarette set light to her living room.

But after studying inquest records, Gary filed a formal complaint accusing police of overlooking evidence which pointed in a different direction. 

“The police scenes of crime officer documents bruising on my mother’s face and neck, which to me is suspicious,” he wrote in his complaint. “There was no reason for my mother to have bruises to her neck and face.”

He added: “My mum had not made any conscious effort to escape the fire. It was as if she had been knocked out before the fire.”

He added that crime scene photos showed furniture in Rosslyn’s living room had been moved.

She was found dead on her three-seater sofa, but the photos showed her two-seater sofa had been moved directly in front of it, he claimed.

“My mother was frail and had mobility issues and would not have been able to move the two-seater sofa, meaning that someone else must have moved it,” he wrote.

“It was positioned in such a way that it blocked my mother in and would have prevented her from escaping the fire. [It] also meant that her view of the TV in the corner would have been obstructed.”

Gary Parkin previously waged a long battle to have the inquest into his mother's death heard by a jury, but ultimately lost Gary Parkin previously waged a long battle to have the inquest into his mother's death heard by a jury, but ultimately lost (Image: Charles Thomson) But the Met Police refused to address these concerns or explain why it deemed Rosslyn's death non-suspicious.

“We are unable to conduct a re-investigation, comment on the evidence or determine whether the death should otherwise have been treated as homicide,” the complaint investigator wrote, adding that a coroner’s inquest was “the most appropriate avenue to address these matters.”

Det Sgt Joe Seals, lead officer on the case, added: “To answer these questions prior to the inquest could undermine the proceedings.”

But Gary accused the Met of employing “circular logic”.

“The family is calling for a criminal investigation,” he said. “This report is a whitewash, full of buck-passing.

“The police send the case to the coroner instead of properly investigating it, then say they can’t properly investigate it in case it upsets the coroner. It’s absolutely disgusting.

“My mum was frail and had a fractured hip that wasn’t mended properly. There’s no way she could have moved that sofa on her own.

“And why would she put a big sofa like that in front of her, blocking her view of the TV? I’ve provided photographs to the police, proving where that sofa was normally situated.”

Gary called the police investigation report a 'whitewash... full of buck-passing'Gary called the police investigation report a 'whitewash... full of buck-passing' (Image: Charles Thomson) Catch up on our past reports about Rosslyn's death:

A Met Police spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and sympathy remain with the family and friends of Rosslyn Wolff who died following a fire at her house in Myrtle Road, Romford, in January 2022.

“A thorough investigation into the circumstances of the fire was carried out alongside colleagues from London Fire Brigade. There was nothing found to suggest there were suspicious circumstances.

“A file has been prepared for the coroner and an inquest will be held in January 2025 which will examine all aspects of Mrs Wolff’s death.”