Haunting final moments of heavily pregnant mother-of-three who wrote 'I love you' on her children's bodies after she drowned them before jumping to her death

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Tragedy: Fiona Anderson pictured on CCTV at the house where her ex-boyfriend was staying two hours before she killed herself. Unknown to anyone else her three children were already dead

 

 

A heavily pregnant mother drowned her three children before writing 'I love you' on their bodies, kissing them and tucking them into bed, an inquest heard today.

Fiona Anderson, 23, then killed herself on April 15 last year after jumping from a car park in Lowestoft, just two months before she was due to have her fourth child.

Her own final hours, after she killed her children, were captured on CCTV as she wandered the streets of the Suffolk coastal town clutching a teddy bear. 

First he went to confront her ex-boyfriend about his new relationship before killing herself two hours later.

 

 

 

Captured: Fiona Anderson clutching a teddy bear minutes before she fell to her death in Lowestoft

Tragedy: Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old Kyden, all died at their home in Lowestoft, Suffolk, having been drowned by their mother

Police discovered the bodies of Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old Kyden, in their mother's double bed at their home in the town's London Road South, an inquest heard today.

Each of the children had a heart drawn on their torso in green ink to create the message 'I love you x' and a lipstick kiss mark on their foreheads, Chief Inspector Andy Smith said. 

Loss: Fiona Anderson was heavily pregnant when she died and her death led police to her home where the bodies of her three children were found

Officers found evidence they had been drowned in the bath. There was no evidence they had been restrained or assaulted, a post-mortem examination found.

Miss Anderson, who feared her children would be taken into care, had written on the walls using a green marker pen, and one message read: 'They're happy and safe and can't be hurt anymore. I love them and I'm going to keep them safe. The last words they heard were I love you.' 

Another said: 'I have them in bed with their bear bears. They loved their bear bears. They cuddled up together sleeping, they look so peaceful'. 

Miss Anderson had written the names of each of the children on her body, with the name 'Eve' which she intended to name her unborn daughter, the inquest heard.

Det Insp Smith said that the day before the killings, she had argued with Craig McClelland, after he began a new relationship.

She stabbed him during this confrontation but he initially lied to police and said he had been stabbed in the street by a stranger.

She sent him a text message reading: 'Say goodnight to your children - it's the last time you will see them.' Mr McClelland did not receive this because he was in hospital.

Mr Smith said: 'He later told us he lied to protect Fiona and stop the children being taken into care.

'It is clear that Fiona Anderson loved her children but that she was extremely emotionally disturbed on April 13, 14 and 15.'

Bereft: Father Craig McLellan pictured with his children (left to right) Addy Kyden and Levina and arriving with his mother to lay flowers after their deaths

Investigation: Police found the children in their mother's double bed and she had also written messages all over the walls 

CCTV of Lowestoft mother clutching teddy before suicide

He added a torn-up letter recovered after her death provided 'a harrowing insight into her life'.

'She felt unable to cope with the situation and apologetically outlined her intention to take her children with her,' Mr Smith said.

'In her words: a mother never abandons her children.'

The family had been known to care agencies since she first became pregnant in 2009, the inquest was told.

Child protection plans were in place because of possible physical and emotional neglect but there had also been no fresh action taken in 2013 which might have triggered her response.

Serious case review author Ron Lock said the family had been considered 'hard to reach' since Miss Anderson's 'unwavering and determined' refusal to engage with children's services since her first pregnancy.

Mr Lock said: 'If the children had been placed into care this could have avoided this tragic outcome.

'But there is never any guarantee that the application for a care order would be successful or that the children would remain in care. 

Siblings: Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old Kyden were two months from having another sister

Inquest: The hearing today heard 'Fiona Anderson loved her children but that she was extremely emotionally disturbed' when she killed them

Because there was no previous evidence of the children being physically harmed or the parents self harming, the deaths were not foreseeable, he concluded.

Bob Cook, chairman of the safeguarding panel, said: 'It was so far off the radar that I don't think it could have been predicted by any reasonable person.'

The family had been known to a variety of care agencies since she first became pregnant in 2009, coroner Peter Dean said.

Child protection plans were in place after concerns over possible physical and emotional neglect were raised.

Social services were considering taking the children into care. 

Miss Anderson's mother, Kerry Anderson, and Mr McClelland both attended the inquest which is expected to conclude tomorrow.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2842350/Heavily-pregnant-mother-23-drowned-three-children-bath-wrote-love-bodies-jumping-death-inquest-hears.html#ixzz3JcjrWpML
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