Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Friday 11th April 2025 at 14:50hrs
A mother has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years today for the brutal murder of her two young sons in their east London home in December 2022.
Kara Alexander, 47, of Cornwallis Road, Dagenham, was handed the sentence at Kingston Crown Court after being convicted of drowning her two children, two-year-old Elijah Thomas and five-year-old Marley Thomas.
The horrifying discovery was made at around 2:00 pm on December 16, 2022, when the boys’ father found their lifeless bodies in their shared bunkbed.
Paramedics were immediately dispatched, but tragically, both young brothers were pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the devastating discovery, Alexander fled the family home but was apprehended by police a short distance away.
Subsequent post-mortem examinations confirmed the cause of death for both Elijah and Marley was drowning.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command launched a thorough investigation, meticulously reviewing CCTV and doorbell footage from the local area and conducting forensic analysis of Alexander’s mobile phone.
Alexander was formally charged with two counts of murder on December 19, 2022. Following a harrowing three-week trial at Kingston Crown Court, she was found guilty on Friday, February 21.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Waller, who led the investigation, described the case as “incredibly tragic.” He stated, “This is an incredibly tragic case, which has left a father without his two beloved boys and a family without two young brothers.”
Addressing the sentence, DCI Waller added, “Kara Alexander will spend the next two decades behind bars, where the memory of what she has done will haunt her forever.”
He extended his condolences and hopes for some measure of peace to the grieving family and friends, saying,
“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.”
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