Mother who killed twins gets 10 years
ADEPRESSED mother who drowned her toddler twins in the bath out of “anger” at her estranged husband has been locked up for 10 years.
Samantha Ford, 38, killed her children Jake and Chloe on Boxing Day last year, after her split from their father Steven Ford a few months beforehand.
She then drove her Ford Galaxy at about 100mph into the back of a lorry, without a seatbelt on, in the early hours of December 27.
When police managed to open the doors of her vehicle, she told them: “I’ve killed my babies. Please let me die.
“I put them in the bath. We were meant to be together. I was going to jump off a cliff but it’s too dark.”
Police found the 23-month-old children, who were conceived by IVF, dead in their bedroom at her rented home in Castle Drive, Margate,
Kent. Ford denied murder but admitted two counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at a hearing in May.
Mr Justice Edis sentenced Ford to 10 years, to be served in a psychiatric unit until she is well enough to be transferred to prison.
The senior judge told the defendant: “The horror of what happened does not need any explanation by me.
“Anyone with any imagination can envisage for themselves what must have happened in that bathroom.
“It is unlikely that they died simultaneously and it must have taken some time and required some determination.”
“Your anger with your husband was a significant contributory factor.
“In deciding to kill your children and yourself, I am sure that you had thoughts of the effect this would have on Steven Ford, with whom all the psychiatrists say you were preoccupied
“You knew it would devastate him and I’m sure that is a reason why you did it.”
Earlier, prosecutor Tom Kark QC had told how the couple had lived in Qatar for the first 10 years of their marriage, but their relationship soured after they left their affluent lifestyle in the Middle East and moved to Charing in Kent in 2018.