This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/11/mother-questioned-deaths-children-wandsworth
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Mother questioned over deaths of two children in Wandsworth | Mother questioned over deaths of two children in Wandsworth |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Postmortem examinations are to be carried out on two young children who were found apparently smothered to death at their home in south London. | |
| A 10-week-old boy, Tej, and a 14-month-old girl, Lily, were discovered unconscious by their father, Jeff Boots, when he arrived home on Wednesday night. | A 10-week-old boy, Tej, and a 14-month-old girl, Lily, were discovered unconscious by their father, Jeff Boots, when he arrived home on Wednesday night. |
| Their mother, Felicia Boots, 34, was arrested at the scene and remains in Met police custody. She is understood to have been medically examined and deemed fit for questioning. | Their mother, Felicia Boots, 34, was arrested at the scene and remains in Met police custody. She is understood to have been medically examined and deemed fit for questioning. |
| Detectives were granted an extension on Friday and have until Saturday morning to charge or release her or request further time. | Detectives were granted an extension on Friday and have until Saturday morning to charge or release her or request further time. |
| Police have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. The children are thought to have died as result of smothering. | Police have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. The children are thought to have died as result of smothering. |
| The house remained sealed off on Friday, as forensic examinations continued inside. Scotland Yard said the postmortems would be carried out at Great Ormond Street hospital. | |
| Neighbours said the family had only recently moved into the semi-detached property in Wandsworth, a residential area nicknamed Nappy Valley because of the numbers of families with young children there. | Neighbours said the family had only recently moved into the semi-detached property in Wandsworth, a residential area nicknamed Nappy Valley because of the numbers of families with young children there. |
| Detectives suspect Felicia Boots may have been suffering from postnatal depression. | |
| Flowers were laid outside the property on Friday and many of those leaving notes and tributes were in tears. One woman, who did not want to be named, said: "It's just so awful. We all have children around here and it's hit us all. My friend used to walk the dog with her and she's in pieces. I can't say any more, it's too much." | Flowers were laid outside the property on Friday and many of those leaving notes and tributes were in tears. One woman, who did not want to be named, said: "It's just so awful. We all have children around here and it's hit us all. My friend used to walk the dog with her and she's in pieces. I can't say any more, it's too much." |
| She wrote on her note: "Hello, you don't know me but I just wanted to say we are sorry for your loss. You and your wife are in our thoughts and I hope you find the strength to get through this. We hope you find peace back in your lives one day. A neighbour a few roads away. God bless." | She wrote on her note: "Hello, you don't know me but I just wanted to say we are sorry for your loss. You and your wife are in our thoughts and I hope you find the strength to get through this. We hope you find peace back in your lives one day. A neighbour a few roads away. God bless." |
| In the last few weeks, the family had been busy completing the move from a penthouse apartment nearby to their new house. The couple are understood to be from Canada and moved to London a few years ago. A tenant renting the flat that the family vacated a few weeks ago said: "They seemed like lovely people; she had just had a newborn baby when we moved in as tenants." | |
| Jeff Boots works as an investment banker. His wife, a hairdresser and stylist, set up an online jewellery business, Pink Tangerine. | |
| Recent research by 4Children, a leading charity on postnatal depression, found that up to 58% of sufferers do not seek medical help, either because they do not recognise what they are going through as PND or because they fear they will be labelled a bad mother if they seek help. | |
| The charity found that PND was far more prevalent than previously thought, with about three in 10 new mothers experiencing the condition in the weeks after childbirth. | The charity found that PND was far more prevalent than previously thought, with about three in 10 new mothers experiencing the condition in the weeks after childbirth. |