Mother to be sentenced over deaths

Sep 22 2009

A waitress who murdered her two daughters by stabbing them to death as they slept faces a life term when she is sentenced.

Rekha Kumari-Baker, 41, attacked Davina Baker, 16, and Jasmine Baker, 13, at her home in Stretham, Cambridgeshire, in the early hours of June 13 2007.

A jury of seven women and five men took just 35 minutes to find Kumari-Baker guilty of murder rather than manslaughter following a two-week trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

Kumari-Baker stabbed Davina 37 times and Jasmine 29 times with kitchen knives bought from an Asda supermarket. After the hearing, Kumari-Baker's ex-husband David Baker described the killings as "an act of calculated viciousness". Jurors heard that Kumari-Baker's marriage broke down about five years before she killed the girls.

The court was told she was upset because her relationship with a boyfriend had ended and she did not like Mr Baker's new girlfriend. Prosecutors said she killed the children to "wreak havoc" on Mr Baker. They said she planned the killing, buying the knives two days before the attack and taking the girls late-night shopping to make them tired and less able to resist.

Businessman Mr Baker said he was pleased with the verdict. "Not a day passes when I don't think of my girls," he said. "I smile now when I remember the good times we had. I remember most of all their love and closeness for each other - sisters together."

Jurors were told that two days before the attack, Kumari-Baker took Jasmine to see a GP for a routine medical appointment and appeared "light-hearted". But on the way back from the visit to the doctor, she bought the knives she used to kill the youngsters. The evening before the attack, Kumari-Baker took the girls shopping at the Lakeside centre near Thurrock, Essex. The trio returned with a DVD of the film Parent Trap.

The court heard she then awoke at around 3am and first killed Davina, then Jasmine. Jurors were told Davina was found kneeling on her bedroom floor and evidence suggested she had tried to fight back. Jasmine was found dead in bed. After the killings, Kumari-Baker went for a drive and then returned and called a friend to say: "I've killed the kids."

Kumari-Baker told detectives when questioned: "I don't remember anything. I hit her twice (Davina) and that was it. I left her there. My head was all everywhere. All over the place. I don't remember anything. It's just a black patch."