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| Samantha Ford: Margate mum killed twins amid bout of 'acute depression' | Samantha Ford: Margate mum killed twins amid bout of 'acute depression' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A mother drowned her toddler twins in a "narcissistic rage" after her marriage broke down, a court has heard. | A mother drowned her toddler twins in a "narcissistic rage" after her marriage broke down, a court has heard. |
| Samantha Ford, 38, killed 23-month-old Jake and Chloe on Boxing Day last year after their father Steven Ford left her. | Samantha Ford, 38, killed 23-month-old Jake and Chloe on Boxing Day last year after their father Steven Ford left her. |
| A psychiatrist told a judge she had killed them in an act of "retaliation and punishment" against Mr Ford. | A psychiatrist told a judge she had killed them in an act of "retaliation and punishment" against Mr Ford. |
| Mr Justice Edis will sentence Ford on 16 August after hearing further psychiatric evidence at the Old Bailey. | |
| Prosecutors previously accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter by diminished responsibility. | Prosecutors previously accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter by diminished responsibility. |
| Ford was in the grip of acute depression when the twins' bodies were found at a house in Margate, Kent, on 27 December, the court heard. | Ford was in the grip of acute depression when the twins' bodies were found at a house in Margate, Kent, on 27 December, the court heard. |
| They were discovered after Ford had tried to take her own life by driving without a seatbelt at about 100mph into the back of a lorry. | They were discovered after Ford had tried to take her own life by driving without a seatbelt at about 100mph into the back of a lorry. |
| The court heard she told police: "I've killed my babies. Please let me die. | The court heard she told police: "I've killed my babies. Please let me die. |
| "I put them in the bath. We were meant to be together." | "I put them in the bath. We were meant to be together." |
| 'Ripped my world apart' | 'Ripped my world apart' |
| Ford and her husband had spent the first 10 years of their marriage in Qatar before moving to Charing, Kent, last year. | Ford and her husband had spent the first 10 years of their marriage in Qatar before moving to Charing, Kent, last year. |
| She was angry at having left her affluent lifestyle and was said to be trying to pressure her husband into returning to in the Middle East. | She was angry at having left her affluent lifestyle and was said to be trying to pressure her husband into returning to in the Middle East. |
| The couple split last November, and she moved with the twins to a rented house in Castle Drive, Margate. | The couple split last November, and she moved with the twins to a rented house in Castle Drive, Margate. |
| Her mental health rapidly declined and she made multiple internet searches into different methods of suicide, the court heard. | Her mental health rapidly declined and she made multiple internet searches into different methods of suicide, the court heard. |
| Prosecutor Tom Kark QC said she had sent multiple text messages to her estranged husband, including one which read: "You have ripped my world apart". | Prosecutor Tom Kark QC said she had sent multiple text messages to her estranged husband, including one which read: "You have ripped my world apart". |
| "She was very upset that the relationship had broken down and didn't like the idea of becoming a single mother," Mr Kark said. | "She was very upset that the relationship had broken down and didn't like the idea of becoming a single mother," Mr Kark said. |
| 'Ultimate punishment' | 'Ultimate punishment' |
| In a victim impact statement, Mr Ford said he thought his children would have been "terrified, confused and that they suffered" in death. | In a victim impact statement, Mr Ford said he thought his children would have been "terrified, confused and that they suffered" in death. |
| "This was the most heinous, spiteful act on two innocent children. I have no doubt (Ford) did this with the intention of taking her own life and punishing me in the process. | "This was the most heinous, spiteful act on two innocent children. I have no doubt (Ford) did this with the intention of taking her own life and punishing me in the process. |
| "I know how she behaves when things don't go her way and when she doesn't get what she wants. | "I know how she behaves when things don't go her way and when she doesn't get what she wants. |
| "It's an extreme version of her character because she couldn't get her own way - knowing how much I loved the children she knew it would be the ultimate punishment for me not going back to her." | "It's an extreme version of her character because she couldn't get her own way - knowing how much I loved the children she knew it would be the ultimate punishment for me not going back to her." |
| Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Muzzaffar Hussain, who has treated Ford, said her actions could be attributed to a "narcissistic rage" at her perceived humiliation at the hands of her husband. | Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Muzzaffar Hussain, who has treated Ford, said her actions could be attributed to a "narcissistic rage" at her perceived humiliation at the hands of her husband. |
| Dr Hussain said Ford had displayed a "sense of entitlement", and attributed "bad things that happen" to others. | Dr Hussain said Ford had displayed a "sense of entitlement", and attributed "bad things that happen" to others. |
| He went on to say she had been experiencing a "homicide/suicide fantasy", which he believed was "in play as a way of retaliation and of punishment of Mr Ford for leaving her - a sense of 'this is what you made me do'." | He went on to say she had been experiencing a "homicide/suicide fantasy", which he believed was "in play as a way of retaliation and of punishment of Mr Ford for leaving her - a sense of 'this is what you made me do'." |
| The court heard that, while in hospital, Ford had talked of voices telling her to kill the children - claims she had not made before she was hospitalised. | The court heard that, while in hospital, Ford had talked of voices telling her to kill the children - claims she had not made before she was hospitalised. |
| "Unfortunately I think it's a wish to appear more severely ill than she is," he said. | "Unfortunately I think it's a wish to appear more severely ill than she is," he said. |
| "I don't deny that she is ill but I think there's a wish to come across more severely unwell than she is and there's a part of that that's coloured the narrative a little bit." | "I don't deny that she is ill but I think there's a wish to come across more severely unwell than she is and there's a part of that that's coloured the narrative a little bit." |
| Brenda Campbell QC, for Ford, said there had been 76 communications between Ford and mental health services in the weeks before the killings. | Brenda Campbell QC, for Ford, said there had been 76 communications between Ford and mental health services in the weeks before the killings. |