Mother killed daughters to 'wreak havoc' on ex-husband
Rekha Kumari-Baker, 41, killed her daughters Davina, 16, and Jasmine, 13, after taking them on a shopping spree to “soften them up” and ensure they were “available to be killed” at her house.
Kumari-Baker, a hotel worker, bought a kitchen knife from an Asda supermarket and later attacked the girls wearing her nightdress as they slept.
Davina was stabbed dozens of times as she fought to save herself before being overpowered. She received 39 separate wounds.
Her sister received fewer wounds, the jury was told, because she had succumbed to the attack more easily.
John Farmer, prosecuting, said: “The word 'frenzied' may be appropriate once she had started to stab.
“Once she started she was going to finish.”
Cambridge Crown Court heard that there was an ongoing struggle between Kumari-Baker and her ex-husband David Baker, a 44-year-old businessman, over the custody of their children.
On June 11 2007, Kumari-Baker took the children from her home in Stretham, Cambs, to go shopping at the Lakeside Centre near Thurrock, Essex.
The trip was an attempt to ensure the teenagers could be killed, it was claimed.
At 6pm the same night, she bought the knife which was used to kill the children.
She had planned to kill them after they fell asleep but changed her mind when she got a text message from Davina in the early hours, thanking her for the trip.
The next day they repeated the trip and at 2.30am on June 13 she attacked and killed them.
She attacked Davina first and the evidence showed that the teenager had attempted to resist but to no avail.
Kumari-Baker stabbed Davina 39 times and continued stabbing until she was sure the teenager was dead.
She then went to Jasmine's bedroom and did "the same thing", the jury of five men and seven women was told.
The younger girl was not stabbed as many times as her sister but had an "awful lot" of wounds, the court heard.
The mother then went for two drives in her car before phoning a friend, who was a special constable.
She said: “I have killed the kids, the children are dead.”
In another phone call, she is alleged to have said: “I stabbed them with knives from the kitchen. This is terrible. At least the children are safe now. Nobody else can hurt them.”
The court heard that shortly before 6.30am she telephoned a friend called Natalie Barford and left an answerphone message saying: “I've done something terrible Natalie. Please call me.”
Ms Barford went to the house to discover the scene. Shortly afterwards Kumari-Baker was arrested.
Mr Farmer said Kumari-Baker wanted to “wreak havoc” on her ex-husband by killing the girls.
He said after killing the girls she got dressed, got into her car and drove towards nearby Ely.
Mr Farmer said Kumari-Baker then returned to her home, “showered and cleaned herself up” then gone out in her car again.
He said “oddly” before setting off on the second trip, she had taken a £20 in order to pay for petrol.
The court heard the breakdown of Kumari-Baker’s relationship with her long-term boyfriend Jeff Powell may have acted as a trigger for the attack. When two psychologists were sent to examine her in the immediate aftermath of the attack by police, they could find no evidence of mental problems.
Davina, who studied at Cambridge Regional College and had a part-time job at Pizza Hut, was described as a thoughtful, intelligent girl. Her nickname was Davvi and she had enjoyed a trip to watch her friends audition for the television show X Factor.
Kumari-Baker told investigators she had intended to kill herself but the court heard there was no evidence that she had made a suicide attempt. Jurors were told that lawyers for Kumari-Baker would argue diminished responsibility due to a severe abnormality of mind.
Kumari-Baker denies murder. The trial continues.
Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...x-husband.html
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