Story Of Mother Who Drowned Her Own Sons In The Bath Then Left Their Bodies In Their Bed For Their Father To Find

A 47-year-old mother from Dagenham, East London, Kara Alexander, has been sentenced to life in prison.

The woman was sentenced after being found guilty of murdering her two sons—Elijah, 2, and Marley, 5—by drowning them in the bath. 

She then placed their lifeless bodies in bed for their father, Selvin Thomas, to discover. She will serve a minimum term of 21 years and 252 days.

The tragic incident occurred in December 2022, and the case was concluded at Kingston Crown Court on Friday.

Presiding over the trial, Mr. Justice Bennathan said Alexander had been heavily using super-strength cannabis known as “skunk,” which contributed to a state of psychosis. He warned that the case should serve as a wake-up call about the serious mental health risks associated with such drug use.

Mr. Thomas, who had separated from Alexander three months prior, had gone to check on his children after receiving no messages or calls. When he arrived at their home, Alexander initially told him the boys were asleep upstairs and shut the door.

After insisting to see his sons, Thomas forced entry and found Elijah and Marley cold and lifeless in their bunk bed. Alexander had already fled the scene.

During the trial, Alexander claimed the boys had drowned accidentally after she left them unattended in the bath to smoke cannabis. However, the jury rejected her defense and found her guilty on two counts of murder after nearly seven hours of deliberation. She had previously admitted gross negligence manslaughter, which the prosecution did not accept.

In his victim impact statement, read aloud by the prosecution, Mr.Thomas said: “Kara ensured maximum impact by engineering the situation so I would find Marley and Elijah dead in bed. I dedicated seven years of my life to a cold-hearted, selfish, and extremely stupid demon.”

The court heard that Alexander had a previous psychotic episode in 2016 and that two friends were aware of her heavy cannabis use while caring for her children. The judge said this was a “shocking abuse of trust” and noted Alexander had been a caring mother prior to the killings.

The prosecution stated the children’s cause of death was due to interference with their breathing—either through drowning or smothering. Emergency services were called around 2 p.m. on December 16, but the children had been dead for hours.

A recording of Mr. Thomas’ 999 call was played during the trial. In it, he screamed in anguish: “She killed my children… she slammed the door in my face… my children are dead. They’re both in the bottom bunk freezing cold.”

Alexander was arrested approximately an hour later after fleeing through neighboring gardens. Her defense argued she was suffering from a transient psychotic episode, but the jury dismissed the claim of diminished responsibility.

Marley and Elijah had previously lived in Hackney with both parents before Alexander moved to Dagenham with the boys following the couple’s separation.