Mum jailed for 21 years for drowning sons in bath

A mother who murdered her two young sons in the bath in east London has been sentenced to life imprisonment in what police have described as "an incredibly tragic case".

Kara Alexander, 47, of Dagenham, was found guilty of killing Elijah Thomas, two, and Marley Thomas, five, at their home in Cornwallis Road in December 2022.

At Kingston Crown Court on Friday, Mr Justice Bennathan sentenced Alexander to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years and 252 days.

Post-mortem examinations concluded the boys had drowned.

The jury previously heard 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 was told.

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.

Det Ch Insp Paul Waller, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "This is an incredibly tragic case, which has left a father without his two beloved boys and a family without two young brothers.

"Kara Alexander will spend the next two decades behind bars, where the memory of what she has done will haunt her forever.

"To the family and friends of Elijah and Marley, while no amount of time will erase the pain of such a loss, I hope this sentence serves to bring some semblance of justice.

"I hope you can now move on with your life, remembering the boys as you knew them, and treasuring the happy times you spent with them."