Lankan woman committed to psychiatric hospital, after murdering children

(July 21, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) A Sri Lankan woman who killed two of her children and attempted to murder the third child was committed to a psychiatric hospital indefinitely in UK after psychiatrists agreed she was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the killings.

She gave birth to another daughter six months after the killings while being treated in a secure hospital.

The woman herself had taken rat poison, but survived.

The woman claimed she was being beaten by her husband and did not want to leave her children behind. She stabbed and cut the throats of her son - five, daughter - four, and her six-month-old baby girl.

Police found the three children lined up on a bed at the family home in Carshalton, Surrey, in May last year. The 37 year old woman pleaded guilty to two offences of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. She also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of the baby who survived despite a severe neck wound.

She told hospital psychiatrists she had been suffering from depression after the child’s birth and was having delusions. Dr Paul Chesterman said she had reacted to her domestic situation, sense of isolation and because of her mental illness.

Judge Brian Barker, told Navaneethan: "This is a profoundly sad and tragic case. It seems to me your turmoil and your actions are virtually impossible for an outsider to understand. This is the case of a sick person who continues to be sick now. You need treatment rather than punishment."

The couple, who are Tamils, moved to Britain five years ago. Friends said they were in debt as her husband's business had been badly affected by a bypass that severely reduced passing trade.

-Sri Lanka Guardian