Kara Alexander, a 47-year-old mother from Dagenham, east London, was convicted of murdering her two sons (2-year-old Elijah and 5-year-old Marley). She then placed the dead body on the bed for her father Selvin Thomas to discover. Her term of office is 21 years and 252 days.
The tragic incident occurred in December 2022 and ended at Crown Court in Kingston on Friday.
Judge Benarson presided over the trial, saying Alexander had been using super powerful marijuana known as “skunks” which led to a state of mental illness. He warned that the case should serve as a wake-up call about the serious mental health risks associated with this drug use.
Mr. Thomas was separated from Alexander three months ago and went to check on his child after receiving no news or calls. When he arrived at home, Alexander initially told him that the boys fell asleep upstairs and closed the door.
After insisting on seeing his son, Thomas forced in and found Elijah and Marley ruthless in their bunk beds. Alexander had fled the scene.
During the trial, Alexander claimed that the boys accidentally drowned while smoking marijuana in their unattended bathroom. However, the jury refused her defense and felt guilty of two counts of murder after nearly seven hours of deliberation. She had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but the prosecutor did not accept it.
Mr. Thomas read aloud in his victim impact statement:
“Kara ensured the greatest impact through the engineering situation, so I would find Marley and Elijah dying in bed. I dedicated seven years of my life to a demon who is cold, selfish and extremely stupid.”
The court heard that Alexander was mentally ill in 2016 and two friends realized her use of marijuana while caring for her children. The judge said it was a “shock of trust” and pointed out that Alexander was a caring mother before he was killed.
Prosecutors say the cause of death of children is due to interference with their breathing — whether it is drowning or suffocation. Emergency service was called at around 2 p.m. on December 16, but the children had been dead for several hours.
During the trial, a recording of Thomas’ 999 phone number was played. In it, he screamed in pain:
“She killed my kids…she slammed the door in my face…my kids were dead. They both freeze the cold in the bed at the bottom.”
About an hour later, Alexander was arrested after escaping from a nearby garden. Her defense argued that she was suffering a brief psychiatric attack, but the jury dismissed the claim of reduced liability.
Marley and Elijah used to live in Hackney with their parents
