Killer mother who robbed husband of his two twins by drowning them in the bath is now trying to take his house as she launches £30,000 divorce suit from psychiatric unit
- Samantha Ford, 38, drowned 23-month-olds Jake and Chloe on Boxing Day 2018
- Jailed for 10 years at Old Bailey for manslaughter by diminished responsibility
- Ex-husband Steven, 36, says she is now pushing for a divorce settlement
- Case could cost £30,000 in legal fees and force Mr Ford to sell his house
A grieving father whose twins were killed by their mum could lose the home he shared with them after she launched a divorce bid from a psychiatric unit.
Samantha Ford, 38, was jailed last year for drowning 23-month-old Jake and Chloe in the bath at her home in Kent on Boxing Day 2018.
Her actions were described as a twisted act of vengeance against her estranged husband, Steven, during a trial at the Old Bailey.
The mum was sentenced to 10 years – to be served at a psychiatric unit until she is deemed fit for prison – after entering a guilty plea of manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
Steven Ford, whose twins were killed by their mum, could lose the home he shared with them after she launched a £30,000 divorce bid from a psychiatric unit
But in a new blow to the children’s grieving father, he has now been told Ford is pushing for divorce, which he says could potentially see him lose his house – the home he shared with Jake and Chloe – in Charing, near Ashford.
In an email to Mr Ford from the Trevor Gibbens Unit in Maidstone, where his estranged wife is being held, NHS officials confirm she wants to pursue divorce proceedings and explore the option of selling the house.
Mr Ford said: ‘I’ve been advised that it will cost around £30,000 in legal fees for me to get divorced.
Steven has now been told Ford is pushing for a divorce, which he says could potentially see him lose his house – the home he shared with Jake and Chloe – in Charing, near Ashford
‘I can’t afford it – I’m not even close – but I have no choice.
‘A straight forward divorce costs much less, but it’s the settlement part that’s costing the money as it’s likely to go to court.
‘I do not want to lose my home.’
Mr Ford had been going down the route of filing for divorce, but says her bid will make it more complicated and expensive.
He said: ‘I don’t know what grounds she could possibly have, but it’s clear she wants to punish me as much as possible and ruin my life.
Samantha Ford, 38, was jailed last year for drowning 23-month-old Jake and Chloe in the bath at her home in Kent on Boxing Day 2018
‘She has destroyed me financially, professionally and mentally.
‘It’s frightening to think I could lose my home after everything I’ve had to deal with.
‘I worked very hard to build a life for me and my family and my home is all that’s left.
‘To lose that too would finish me.’
During the hearing at the Old Bailey last year, the court heard how Ford had Googled how to drown someone in the weeks leading up to the twins’ deaths and one psychologist stated she was a ‘narcissist’ who was ‘trying to appear more severely ill than she is’.
It was also heard the ‘materialistic’ mother had become obsessed with losing her ‘perfect life’ in Qatar after the family moved back to Kent.
She left a suicide note before attempting to take her own life by driving into a lorry hours after killing her children.
A full inquest into the children’s deaths was due to be held last September, but instead was delayed due to Ford’s legal team pushing for a wider investigation into the support she received before they died.
A decision was then made by the coroner to hold an Article 2 hearing, an enhanced inquest held in cases where ‘the State or its agents have failed to protect the deceased against a human threat or other risk’.