London, July 22: A pregnant mother killed two of her children and tried to murder her six-month-old baby while suffering from severe post-natal depression, a court heard.
Sasikala Navaneethan, 37, gave them alcohol and lay them side by side in age order before slitting their throats.
She dialled 999 after also trying to kill herself by slashing her wrists and drinking rat poison.
The Sri Lankan-born housewife told police she was often beaten by her husband Navarajah, 39, and believed he was having affairs with two other women.
Her son Shanjayan, 5, and daughter Sharani, 4, were found dead at the scene, but her youngest daughter Trishana survived despite serious knife wounds to her neck.
Navaneethan originally claimed her husband carried out the attack in May last year but later admitted her guilt.
The Old Bailey heard how Navaneethan felt she could not leave her husband or go to her GP because of “cultural expectations”. Psychiatrists have since diagnosed her as suffering from a depressive illness.
Judge Brian Barker told Navaneethan hers was “a profoundly sad and tragic case”. “This is the case of a sick person who continues to be sick now. You need treatment rather than punishment.”
Navaneethan pleading guilty to two offences of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and the attempted murder of Trishana. She was sent to a secure mental hospital for an indefinite period.
Navaneethan gave birth to another daughter six months after the attack, while being treated in a secure hospital. Both surviving daughters are being cared for by their father.
-Agencies