Worried dad ran upstairs to check on little boys and found them dead in bunk bed

A father has spoken of his horror after discovering his two young sons dead in their bunk bed, having been murdered by their own mother.

has been of which she must serve a minimum of 21 years and 252 days, after being found guilty of murdering her two young sons, The evil mum drowned the children in the bath at their Dagenham home shortly before 2022, in what has been described as an "unimaginable" crime.

Tragically, it was the boys' father who made the devastating discovery after going to collect them for the weekend. His ex-partner Alexander hadn't been picking up his calls, and he became increasingly worried after his messages went unanswered. It was then that he visited the home, where Alexander told him their children were asleep upstairs.

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After going upstairs to see his sons, the father was met with a scene of tragedy. Elijah and Marley were lying dead in the lower bunk of their shared bunk bed, dressed in their pyjamas as if ready for bed.

Horrified, the unnamed father rushed from the house to sound the alarm. By the time he got downstairs, Alexander had already fled through neighbouring gardens into another street. By the time emergency responders arrived at the scene, it was far too late to save Elijah and Marley, who had already been dead for several hours.

Around an hour later, police tracked down Alexander, who denied the charge of murder during her trial at Kingston Crown Court. She attempted to claim that she'd been asleep while her children drowned in the bath. However, prosecutors were able to prove that, due to the boys' ages, the drowning couldn't have been accidental.

Following Alexander's conviction in February, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Waller, who led the investigation, issued the following statement: “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.”

Sentencing Alexander today (11 April), Mr Justice Bennathan said: “On the evening of the 15th of December 2022, you’d been smoking skunk. You’d been doing so every night for weeks, probably much longer. At some stage, both the boys were in their pyjamas ready for bed, with Elijah also wearing his nappy. You drowned them both by your deliberate acts.”

The judge went on to state that although he could not reach any conclusion, in Alexander's state at that time of the murders, she had intended to kill her sons, telling the court how she had “unspeakably” held the children underwater for “up to a minute or two”.

He continued: “The bath was probably still run from their normal evening routine, and I do not think for a moment that your dreadful acts were pre-meditated.”

Samantha Yelland of the Crown Prosecution Service 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.”

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com