Mother of dead children taken to mental unit

Walter JAYAWARDHANA

UK: The mother of two Sri Lankan Tamil children who were killed in the UK is scheduled to be sent to a secure mental health facility, police sources said.

“She was detained under the Mental Health Act during the night of June 1,” a police spokesman added.

The mother of the toddlers who have been murdered by slitting their throats was detained by the Scotland Yard. She will be sent for further assessment of her mental health.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “She will go to a secure mental health facility where she will undergo further assessment and receive any treatment that might be needed. We will still continue to investigate the circumstances of what happened.”

The Police said the post mortem examinations on the bodies of the dead children will be done today or tomorrow.

Shocked neighbours left more than 30 floral tributes in the garden of the house where the tragedy occurred. One message read:

“May you rest in peace, little angels.” Another note said “Your life lay before you like fresh untrodden snow and suddenly life has been snatched from your two innocent lives.”

The 35 year old mother from Chunnakam in Jaffna District in Sri Lanka, Sasikala Navaneethan was also treated for suspected self-inflicted minor injuries while her six month old baby daughter, remained in a South London Hospital after having undergone emergency surgery.

The 39 year old Sri Lankan father, Navaratnarajah who was arrested together with his wife for the murder of their five and four year old children and slitting the throat of their six months old baby girl has been released without charges by the police.

The injured baby girl whose throat has been cut was operated on by surgeons during the night of Saturday and the Police said the baby is in critical but stable condition.

The young Sri Lankan Tamil couple were arrested by the New Scotland yard police for the suspected murder of their five year old boy, four year old girl and grievous hurt of a six month old baby girl by cutting their throats the police said.

The attack on the children and the injury of the woman allegedly took place in their four bedroomed 300,000 Pound house in South London at Park Road in Carshalton, the Police said.

The mother and the father were being extensively questioned by the murder squad and the child abuse unit of new Scotland Yard. The Police and ambulances reached the murder scene at 10.30 p.m. May 30, the neighbours said.

The paramedics who came in several ambulances to the scene put them in the vehicles and were seen attempting to resuscitate the injured children before being removing them to the hospital, the neighbours said.

The two older children died within 15 minutes of each other shortly before midnight, Friday after admission to the hospital.

Neighbours in the usually placid town said the deceased children were very playful and sweet and talked to them while playing outside their house, riding their little bikes.