Molly and Mitch stared out from the photograph, and beneath the headline, the story ran: A house fire in Hackney in which two young children died is not being treated as suspicious, police have confirmed. Molly Willow, 6, and Mitch Willow, 4, died in their home on Henryd Street two weeks ago this Friday. Firefighters attempted to rescue them from the second-story bedroom where they were trapped, but their deaths were confirmed on arrival at the hospital. The cause of death was given as smoke inhalation. The children’s parents were not in the property at the time the fire broke out. A police spokesperson said the fire was not arson. The matter is still under investigation, with an electrical fault in the building suspected of being the most likely cause. Though the Willows were unavailable for comment as we went to press, a family friend told the Standard, “Words can’t describe what they’re going through now. It’s unbearable — they were still settling in to their new home when this happened.
