News / International
Father slit the throats of his two children to "spite" ex-wife
09 Dec 2011 at 00:06hrs | Views
A LONDON man, Jean Francis Say (62) (originally from the Ivory Coast) murdered his two young children by slitting their throats with a knife just to "spite" his ex-wife.
Say murdered his eight-year-old daughter Regina and son Rolls, ten, when he had custody of them for the weekend.
He carried out the killings shortly after he received a letter confirming he was being kicked out of the family's three-bedroom property where he lived alone.
His estranged wife Adjoua, 44, known as Antoinette, had moved out with the children six months earlier and Say was no longer entitled to the flat.
The children played online computer games before Say knifed them to death on the weekend of February 12 this year.
He then phoned Antoinette telling her to call the police.
Detectives broke into the flat and found the shaven-headed retired concierge and part-time football steward sitting calmly beside the bodies of his children.
They had been dead for several hours in the flat in Southwark, South London.
Prosecutor Ed Brown QC told the Old Bailey today: "He killed the children in order to spite his wife.
"He was about to be evicted from the flat because his wife had moved out and he was then not entitled to the three bedroom flat. He received a letter from his solicitors stating out effectively that position on the 12th."
He told the court there was a history of domestic violence and Antoinette had moved out some time before eviction proceedings were started.
However, he added, there had not been any concerns about the children's safety.
Neighbours claimed officers had been called to the flat on at least one previous occasion after reports of a violent row between "controlling" Say and his wife.
The couple, both from West Africa, married in February 1998 in Southwark.
But Antoinette moved to Holloway in North London with the children after their marriage failed.
Say pleaded guilty to the double murders through an interpreter.
He is due to be sentenced on Monday afternoon.
Say murdered his eight-year-old daughter Regina and son Rolls, ten, when he had custody of them for the weekend.
He carried out the killings shortly after he received a letter confirming he was being kicked out of the family's three-bedroom property where he lived alone.
His estranged wife Adjoua, 44, known as Antoinette, had moved out with the children six months earlier and Say was no longer entitled to the flat.
The children played online computer games before Say knifed them to death on the weekend of February 12 this year.
He then phoned Antoinette telling her to call the police.
Detectives broke into the flat and found the shaven-headed retired concierge and part-time football steward sitting calmly beside the bodies of his children.
They had been dead for several hours in the flat in Southwark, South London.
Prosecutor Ed Brown QC told the Old Bailey today: "He killed the children in order to spite his wife.
"He was about to be evicted from the flat because his wife had moved out and he was then not entitled to the three bedroom flat. He received a letter from his solicitors stating out effectively that position on the 12th."
He told the court there was a history of domestic violence and Antoinette had moved out some time before eviction proceedings were started.
However, he added, there had not been any concerns about the children's safety.
Neighbours claimed officers had been called to the flat on at least one previous occasion after reports of a violent row between "controlling" Say and his wife.
The couple, both from West Africa, married in February 1998 in Southwark.
But Antoinette moved to Holloway in North London with the children after their marriage failed.
Say pleaded guilty to the double murders through an interpreter.
He is due to be sentenced on Monday afternoon.
Source - The Sun
