Kara Alexander , 47, of Dagenham, murdered her two children Elijah Thomas, two, and Marley Thomas, five, in a bath, and told their father when he arrived that they were sleeping upstairs
A mother has been found guilty of murdering her two young sons after claiming she fell asleep when they were in the bath.
Kara Alexander , 47, of Dagenham, east London, was accused of murdering Elijah Thomas, two, and Marley Thomas, five, in the bath at their home in Cornwallis Road, in December 2022.
She was found guilty on Friday at Kingston Crown Court of two counts of murder, a court official confirmed. The Crown Prosecution Service said post-mortem examinations found the children’s cause of death was either drowning or suffocation.
Alexander denied murdering her sons, claiming they had drowned in the bath while she was asleep. The CPS said the prosecution team set about proving they could not have accidentally drowned and that the only reasonable explanation for their deaths is that Alexander caused them to drown.
The jury was told how the children’s father was due to have the boys that weekend and became increasingly concerned when he had not heard back from Alexander. When he arrived at their home she told him the children were upstairs sleeping.
The CPS said that when he went upstairs he found the boys’ bodies together in the lower bunk of their shared bunk bed dressed in pyjamas. The ambulance service and police came to the house but there was nothing that could be done as the boys had been dead for some hours, the CPS said.
Samantha Yelland, a senior Crown prosecutor in the CPS London Homicide Unit, said: “Our thoughts remain with Elijah and Marley’s family and friends who have been completely devastated by their loss.
“It is unimaginable to think what those poor children went through in their final moments. It is a parent’s job to keep their children safe and Kara Alexander not only failed to do that, but robbed them of their lives. I hope today’s verdict will provide the family with some closure knowing now that Alexander has been held accountable for their murders.”
Scotland Yard said Alexander will be sentenced on April 11. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Waller, who led the investigation, said: “Our thoughts are with the family, especially the boys’ father who found them dead when he went to collect them for the weekend after Kara Alexander had failed to return his messages.
“No parent should have to go through such a horrific experience, and then have to listen to the detailed evidence highlighting what led up to these events. I would also like to praise those who were first on scene – our colleagues and the paramedics – who also experienced this traumatic event first-hand.
“This has been a difficult investigation for everyone involved. This guilty verdict cannot turn back the clock but it does provide the children’s family with some form of resolution.”
