Mother found guilty of murdering sons aged 2 and 5

A mother has been found guilty of murdering her two young sons who were found dead by their father at the boys' home in east London.

Kara Alexander, 47, was accused of drowning Elijah Thomas, two, and Marley Thomas, five, in the bath at their home in Cornwallis Road, Dagenham, on 16 December 2022.

Alexander denied killing her sons, claiming that they had drowned in the bath while she was asleep, but prosecutors dismissed this, arguing that she caused their deaths.

She was convicted of two counts of murder at Kingston Crown Court following a trial.

Post-mortem examinations concluded the boys had either drowned or suffocated, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

The jury was told how the children's father was due to look after the boys during the upcoming weekend, and became concerned as Alexander had not contacted him.

On arrival at their home she told him the children were upstairs sleeping, the court heard.

But when he went upstairs, he found the boys' bodies together in the lower bunk of their shared bunk bed dressed in pyjamas, having died several hours earlier, the CPS said.

Samantha Yelland, a senior crown prosecutor in the CPS London Homicide Unit, said Elijah and Marley's family and friends had been left "completely devastated" by their loss.

"It is unimaginable to think what those poor children went through in their final moments," Ms Yelland said.

"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."

The Metropolitan Police said Alexander was due to be sentenced on 11 April.

Det Ch Insp Paul Waller, who led the investigation, said his thoughts went out particularly to the boys' father.

"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," he added.

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