Three disabled children 'smothered in their pyjamas by their mother' may have been dead for more than 24 hours by the time police were called

Three severely disabled children allegedly smothered in their pyjamas by their mother may have been dead for more than a day before they were discovered, it emerged today.
Neighbours say three-year-old twins Ben and Max and their four-year-old sister Olivia were last seen playing in the garden at the family’s £2million home in south-west London on Easter Sunday.
Worried friends had been unable to contact Tania Lawrence, 42, for 24 hours and called police, who arrived at property at 9pm on Tuesday to find the children dead in their bedrooms.
Their mother was found injured in the bathroom and taken to St George’s Hospital, Tooting, south London, and arrested on suspicion of murder after treatment to minor wounds.
Today her banker husband Gary is said to be 'beyond shock' and will arrive back in the UK from South Africa, where he had been with their eldest daughter Taya – who is not disabled – to celebrate her eighth birthday.

+14

Murder investigation: Investment banker Gary Clarence is flying back to the UK from South Africa after three of his four children were found dead at home (pictured here with his twin sons)

Neighbour Julie Dodd, 54, said she last saw the three children on Easter Sunday, adding: 'They were quite happy and larking around like children do.'
Max, Ben and Olivia suffered the degenerative condition spinal muscular atrophy – sometimes described as ‘floppy baby syndrome’.
Their family and carers had to check them every hour, fill out complicated medical records and they needed other specialist care around the clock.

Friends have said that Olivia's developmental problems were only discovered when she was two, and Mrs Clarence was pregnant with the twins.

A series of tests revealed that the couple carried the disease and their children might not live for more than five years.

Lloyd Marshall, who runs a hotel in Johannesburg set up by the Clarence family, says the children's poor health had put a 'massive, massive strain on them'.

'They were working through it, handling it exceptionally. Gary would never have travelled if there was an indication of a problem', he told the Daily Telegraph.

Mr Marshall said Mr Clarence was with his family in Bela-Bela, 100 miles north of Johannesburg, when he was told of the deaths.

He told the Times: 'Gary's trying to get back as fast as possible, and his mum and sister are accompanying him for support. It was an absolute, complete shock to the family. They're absolutely devastated. Gary wouldn't have travelled had there been any concern.'

Mr Marshall also described how the couple had noticed that Olivia could not sit up properly while on holiday in South Africa and 'alarm bells began to ring'.

Mr Marshall said they were later 'devastated' by the diagnosis because it meant there was a '50/50' chance the twins would have it.

They later learned the children might only live for another two years, he said.

'My understanding was it was a maximum of around five years from when they were diagnosed around two years ago. You suffocate because your muscles can't support you at all. It was an incredibly devastating story once they found out the problem, and particularly when the twins had the same condition'.

Graphic designer Mrs Clarence, who is still being held in a police station near their New Malden home, had given up work 'more out of choice than duty' to care for the children.

The family also had at least one nanny and an au pair helping them day-to-day.

Mr Clarence, a trained lawyer, studied at Stellenbosch University and in Holland before joining Investec in 1999, two years after the couple married in South Africa. 
He began working in its financial department, before moving to the US for 18 months and eventually becoming a director, responsible for international healthcare clients.

SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY: CHILDREN HAD RARE DISEASE

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a disease sometimes called ‘floppy baby syndrome’ that affects between 5,500 and 6,000 people in the UK.
It causes muscle weakness and progressive loss of movement as the nerve cells connecting the brain and spinal cord to the body’s muscles break down over time.
Muscles used for activities such as crawling, walking, sitting up and moving the head become gradually weaker, but mental abilities remain unaffected.
In the most severe forms of SMA, types I and II, fatal respiratory problems often develop early on and it is the leading cause of genetic death in infants and toddlers.
Depending on its severity, children may need surgery, exercises and  equipment to improve mobility and breathing. There is no cure.
SMA is caused by a faulty copy of a gene, which is activated when both parents carry it.
Around one in every 40 to 60 people carry the gene. It can be tested for during pregnancy, although the test can increase the risk of a miscarriage.
Joanna Mitchell, from the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Trust, said: ‘There can be terrible pain and it can be challenging for parents to look after children with the condition.’

The couple had Taya in 2006. But while pregnant with the twins Mrs Clarence discovered that their second daughter Olivia had a degenerative genetic illness.
The twins, who were born prematurely in Lisbon in 2010, were soon discovered to have inherited the same illness.
All three children were left with severely limited development and doctors warned that Olivia was unlikely to survive to her teens.
The couple threw everything into providing for their children. Mrs Clarence, a talented graphic designer, gave up her career to look after them and the family renovated a seven-bedroom home in the commuter belt in New Malden.
They moved in last year after builders gutted the home and installed special features, including a lift and ramps, during a nine-month project.
The couple also employed a nanny and carers were regularly seen  visiting the children at all hours of day and night.
New Malden councillor Ken Smith said Mrs Clarence had contacted him recently with concerns about an uneven pavement that was hindering her children’s wheelchairs.
He added: ‘She absolutely doted on the children. When I spoke to the lady she was very, very concerned about the children and that they were looked after properly. This is a tragedy.’
All three disabled children attended Bedelsford School, a highly respected school for the disabled in Kingston, where staff said they were ‘deeply saddened’ by the deaths.
Police discovered the bodies after they were called to the couple’s three-storey Victorian mansion on Tuesday evening. 

Family friends had dialled 999 after becoming concerned when they couldn’t contact the family for more than 24 hours.

HOUSE REBUILT TO MEET FAMILY'S EVERY NEED

Gary and Tania Clarence spent almost a year renovating their £2million home to make it suitable for their disabled children before moving in.
The couple bought the house in 2011 for £1,060,000 but it was derelict and needed extensive renovation.
They shelled out hundreds of thousands of pounds on the seven-bedroom property in New Malden, Surrey, stripping it back and rebuilding it almost from bare foundations.
When it was finished it included a state-of-the-art lift for their second daughter, Olivia.
The couple spent another £50,000 on a new driveway, removing a tree and fitting a sloping entrance to the front door that could be used by wheelchairs.
The property also boasted a 140ft south-facing garden for the children to play in and the fridge in the kitchen included a holder for wine glasses.
Neighbour June Dodd said they spent ‘months and months’ doing it up before moving in from their previous home in nearby Wimbledon, South London.
Ethel Winstanley, who lives opposite the couple, said she congratulated them on the house’s ‘transformation’ last summer.

The three children were found dead in their upstairs bedrooms. Police suspect they may have been suffocated.
She remained in police custody last night.
Neighbours said two tearful women were standing in the street as police and ambulances arrived. Both were so upset they could barely speak.
Michele Bacchus, 38, who helped them, said: ‘They were sobbing and very upset. I don’t know if it was them that found the family. It was awful.’
Last night a family friend said: ‘She had to cope with so much, she was a very loving mother.’
Shocked neighbours said it was a tragedy and called the family ‘really, really lovely people’.
Retired nurse Joy Devis, 86, said the deaths came as a ‘huge surprise and shock’ and other neighbours said they had last seen the children playing in the front garden on  Sunday ‘larking about’.
They and other well-wishers created a poignant makeshift memorial to the children outside the house yesterday, leaving teddy bears, bouquets of flowers, pot plants and a child’s skipping rope in the driveway – which was guarded by police officers.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said post-mortem examinations, undertaken by a specialist paediatric pathologist, are likely to take place today.

DAILYMAIL.CO.UK