Christmas is meant to be a time for families to come together and celebrate – but for grief-stricken father Scott Peden, it has become a living hell.
The 30-year-old’s sister Stephanie Hansen was brutally murdered by her jealous housemate on December 30, 2022.
Then, just as Scott was starting to rebuild his life, tragedy struck once more when his entire family was killed in a devastating fire.
The inferno, triggered by a second-hand e-bike which blew up, took place exactly six months after Scott’s sister was hacked to death by Sheldon Rodrigues.
The fire engulfed Scott’s Cambridge home, killing his partner Gemma, 31, and their children Lilly, eight, and Oliver, four. The family’s two dog also burnt to death.
Scott was left in a coma for a month, and has rallied back from three cases of pneumonia, a cardiac arrest, an infection and prolonged injuries.
When he finally came to, heavily bandaged and blackened with burns with his mother Glenda, 62, was sat at his beside – and delivered the news that would change his life in a ‘matter of minutes’.
Scott says he has now ‘lost everything’ since the two tragedies ripped his world apart. ‘My life has been ruined. I don’t enjoy my life anymore. I’m just living.’ he added, as he opened up for the first time since losing his sister and family.
Scott Peden, 30, from Cambridge, lost his partner Gemma, 31, (pictured) during a blaze caused by a second-hand e-bike battery he had bought online
Scott’s sister Stephanie Hansen (pictured), 39, was savagely murdered by her housemate
The exterior of their home following the inferno which left Mr Peden in a coma for a month
Scott’s nightmare ordeal started just days after Christmas two years ago, when his older sister was stabbed to death by vindictive Heathrow worker, Rodrigues.
The 30-year-old killer set up an old phone in their front room after become jealous over Ms Hansen’s romance with her new partner, as well as a bug in her bedroom, and other recording devices.
He spent more than 100 hours – the equivalent of almost one week – tuning in while working as a cargo agent for American Airlines at Heathrow and when he was on holiday to his native Goa.
On the night of Ms Hansen’s death in 2022, her housemate spent an entire nightshift listening in to the couple having sex on the bug in the living room, with CCTV showing him fiddling with his earphones or touching his phone over 300 times.
Having shared an chilling Joker-inspired post on Facebook, Furious Rodrigues later rushed into her room when she was alone and stabbed Ms Hansen at least 20 times with a kitchen knife before battering her with a tower fan and her hairdyer.
Then, exactly six months on from the anniversary of the murder, Scott’s family was dealt another brutal hammer blow, when a fire destroyed his home, killing his children, partner and pets.
The horror inferno ignited on Friday, June 30, scorching Scott’s flat in Sackville Close in King’s Hedges.
Neighbours were woken shortly after 1am by the screech of fire alarms going off.
Heathrow Airport worker Sheldon Rodrigues (pictured), 30, who was dubbed the Love Bug Killer after using a listening device to record his housemate’s ‘most intimate moments’ and then murdering her in jealous rage, has been jailed for life
He was living with Stephanie Hansen (pictured), 39, in Hayes, west London ten years after ending a brief relationship
Their children Lilly, eight, and Oliver, four, (pictured) were also killed in the inferno which ripped through their home
Pictured: The aftermath left in their home after the lithium battery he bought for £300 burst into flames
At the time, nobody knew of just how horrific the fire was, which trapped Scott and his loved ones in their home.
‘There was smoke billowing everywhere and I could see flames, and hear the sounds of windows smashing,’ one neighbour said.
The tragedy was caused by a second-hand e-bike which exploded while it was charging in the hallway of their family home.
Recounting the nightmare inferno, Scott described how he and Gemma were startled awake by a huge explosion that sounded like a ‘bomb’.
When he went to look what had happened, the father found his staircase engulfed in flames, and was overcome with the realisation that there was no way out of the house for him or his family.
Heartbroken Scott says the fire ignited due to a second-hand lithium battery, which blew up as it charged.
‘The battery exploded under my stairs, whilst my family was asleep. Flames were coming up the stairs like a flamethrower.’
Screaming out of his window for help, the father leapt from the window and broke his heel whilst he landed, before discovering the source of the flames was the second hand lithium battery.
As the inferno ripped the his home, Mr Peden urged Gemma as well as the children to jump before his late wife tragically responded: ‘I can’t get out’ before silence ensued.
Their greyhound-boxer cross, Bitsy (pictured with Mr Peden) and Dalmatian Rollo were also killed in the fire
In the wake of his grief, the heartbroken father has issued an urgent warning to others about the dangers of second hand lithium batteries (pictured left: Oliver as baby, right Mr Peden and Lily)
The heartbroken father became unconscious after seeing his daughter’s (pictured) body being removed from the home
As he collapsed on to his children’s trampoline, a bystander had come to help Mr Peden who was unknowingly on fire.
Their neighbours stayed with the father until emergency services arrived, however the heartbroken father became unconscious after seeing his daughter’s body being removed from the home.
When his mother Glenda arrived at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford from her holiday, she couldn’t even recognise him due to his injuries.
The fumes from the deadly lithium batteries had also seeped into his lungs and caused sever damage, according to his mother.
Now, the grief-stricken father is forced to face a new life on his own, with not even a photograph to remember his family by because of the devastating blaze.
‘I’ve lost everything from that one night and my heart has been left broken.
Describing his ‘very maternal’ wife, Scott said the pair spent around a decade building a life together in their own home which they shared with their children Oliver and Lily as well as their greyhound-boxer cross, Bitsy, and Dalmatian, Rollo.
He told of how his wife should’ve celebrated her birthday a week ago, whilst his children should be gearing up to turn six and nine over the coming months – but due to the e-bike explosion that reality has been snatched away.
And as he continues to rebuild his life, he has now issued a warning to others about the dangers posed by the devices, which have caused numerous fires across the UK
‘At Christmas, when people are buying e-bikes as gifts, I am pleading with people not to buy second hand batteries,’ he told The Sun whilst calling for stricter rules on the resale of batteries.
Whilst also having to battle battle a coma for a month, Scott also faced three cases of pneumonia , a cardiac arrest, an infection as well as prolonged injuries
Tragedy during the festive season is nothing new for Scott whose sister Stephanie Hansen was killed by her flatmate in December 2022
‘We had smoke alarms, but because it was a lithium battery, we didn’t stand a chance. I lost everything in the fire, and I have to start all over again.’
Recounting how he got his deadly two-wheeled vehicle, Scott said he his family were strapped for cash so his mother purchased an e-bike to help him get to and from work – which he initially thought was ‘brilliant’.
Unfortunately in June 2023, the bike’s battery was stolen as the father purchased dog food for his two pets – and with the prospect of not being able to work without it, he bought a second-hand battery from eBay for half price at £300.
Two days later, the batter blew up, killing Scott’s family.
‘The only positive to come from this is me making sure it does not happen to anyone else,’ he said.
‘Before the fire, I had no idea about the dangers of these lithium-ion batteries. I bought my battery online and just assumed it would be safe, I never imagined it could be so dangerous.’
He is now appealing for a change in the law to prevent future e-bike tragedies like his from happening.
‘If my story doesn’t show the desperate need for a change in regulation, then I don’t know what will.
‘I’m urging all the political parties to come together to tackle the issue of e-bike fires so that no one has to go through what I did.’
