A woman has been found guilty of murdering her two young children after their bodies were discovered inside their home in east London.
Kara Alexander, 47, of Cornwallis Road, Dagenham, was convicted at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, 21 February. She is set to be sentenced on Friday, 11 April.
The case unfolded on 16 December 2022, when emergency services were called to Alexander’s home around 2:00 pm after the children’s father found them unresponsive in their shared bunk bed.
He had arrived to pick them up for the weekend after receiving no response from Alexander.
Two-year-old Elijah Thomas and five-year-old Marley Thomas were pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination revealed that they died from interference with normal breathing, caused by smothering and/or immersion in water.
Following the grim discovery, Alexander fled the scene but was arrested a short distance away.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command launched an investigation, finding no signs of forced entry in the house.
The curtains were drawn, the home was in darkness, and Alexander’s phone—discovered in a sink filled with water—showed no activity on the day of the children’s deaths, despite regular usage in the days prior.
CCTV footage from local cameras and doorbells captured Alexander running errands with her children in the days leading up to the tragedy, with the last sighting of all three together on the afternoon of 15 December.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Waller, who led the investigation, described the case as deeply harrowing, particularly for the boys’ father, who had to endure the horror of discovering his children dead.
“No parent should ever go through such a horrific experience,” Waller said. “This verdict cannot undo what has been done, but it provides some measure of justice for Elijah and Marley’s grieving family.”
Alexander was charged with two counts of murder on 19 December, 2022.
