A mother accused of killing her two young children has been found guilty of their murders.
Fiona Donnison, 45, of Lightwater, Surrey, had denied the murder of Harry, aged three, and two-year-old Elise, in a trial at Lewes Crown Court.
Their bodies were found in holdalls in the boot of Ms Donnison’s car, near the former family home in East Sussex.
The prosecution claimed she killed them to hurt their father, Paul. The defence claimed she had depression at the time.
Jurors heard claims Ms Donnison, a former City worker, used the children as the “ultimate pawns”, by killing them in order to hurt their father in the most extreme way possible.
Prosecutors told the court she smothered the children with their bedding before putting their bodies in the car.
Ms Donnison declined to give evidence herself during the trial.
But the defence argued she had suffered from depression at the time and said the charges should be reduced to manslaughter.
Jurors heard from mental health professionals who said she swallowed a blade from a pencil sharpener earlier this year, could not remember events surrounding the deaths, and could not bring herself to say the children’s names.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14459954
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