Father drowns girl, 6, in bath

A SIX-year-old girl was drowned by her father to punish his wife for leaving him.

Darren Flux-Edmonds, 44, placed her body next to her dead dogs then hanged himself, an inquest heard yesterday.

He drowned Keziah in the bathtub of the family home before laying her body in the master bedroom.

The father-of-one also drowned her two terriers and Keziah was found with her arms wrapped around her pets.

Flux-Edmonds, who suffered from depression, was looking after Keziah at her home in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, while her mother Nikki was at work for an hour.

He sent her a text saying: “You have left me with nothing, I’ll leave you with only memories.”

Mrs Flux-Edmonds, a financial service administrator, immediately called police and made her way back home.

The officers found Flux-Edmonds hanging from the rafters in the loft and then found Keziah.

He had nightmares about murdering his wife and daughter, the inquest was told.

Isle of Wight coroner Caroline Sumeray recorded that Keziah’s death was an unlawful killing and that Flux-Edmonds had killed himself.

She told the girl’s mum: “You must not blame yourself for what happened

“This was totally unforeseeable.”