A Newbury Park man who killed his two young children during lockdown has been detained in hospital indefinitely.


Shop worker Nadarajah Nithiyakumar killed his 19-month-old daughter Pavinya and three-year-old son Nigish on April 26 while his wife was in the shower at their Aldborough Road South home.


The 41-year-old previously admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility after psychiatrists concluded he was suffering a delusional disorder.

Ilford Recorder: Nadarajah Nithiyakumar has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.Nadarajah Nithiyakumar has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order. (Image: Met Police)


At the Old Bailey on Thursday, December 10, Mrs Justice Cutts handed him a hospital order without limit of time.


She told him: "The consequences of your actions have been devastating.


"Two young and innocent children have had their futures and their lives taken from them by their own father.


"Your wife came out of the shower on what she considered to be a normal day to the most horrific scene imaginable."


In a victim impact statement, the children's mother, Nisanthini Nithiyakumar, said: "After my children were born I was the happiest woman in the world. Every moment I spent with my kids, these were my happiest moments.


"They were both my world and I doted on them, my future ambitions and my life surrounded my children."


She said Nigish had a lovely smile and personality and Pavinya was a "blessing and miracle".


Of their killings, she said: "I never expected this sort of incident to happen in my life and a mother to outlive her children.


"On the day of the incident I saw my children and what he did to them. I could not understand if it was dream or a nightmare, with those shocking images never leaving me."


The court heard that the defendant had been granted asylum after arriving in Britain from Sri Lanka in 1999.


He first came to the attention of mental health services in 2010 and was put on anti-psychotic medication but his treatment lapsed.


On Sunday, April 26, he returned to the family home just after 4.30pm.
Over the next hour, he washed and watched television before killing the children and cutting himself with a knife while his wife was in the shower.


When Mrs Nithiyakumar heard noises and went to see what was going on, he told her: "I have cut the children off."


He claimed there was a "problem" at work and the police were looking for him, the court heard.


He told his wife: "If they get the children they will spoil them. That is the reason I did this to the children."


By the time police arrived, Mrs Nithiyakumar was screaming and hysterical.
She told officers: "He stabbed himself and he stabbed the kids as well."


Pavinya was pronounced dead at the scene and Nigish died later in hospital.
The defendant underwent surgery and was placed in an induced coma but survived.


Following his discharge from hospital, he told police he was depressed and stressed, the court heard.


He claimed customers at the shop where he worked had upset him and he had resolved to kill himself and the children.


The court heard there was no evidence of problems at work.


In mitigation, Steven Perian QC said: "The defendant realises what he has done. He has started to understand his actions and is devastated from what has occurred."

Devi Kharran, senior Crown Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “This was a tragic case in which a loving and devoted mother had her two children cruelly taken away from her.

"The man responsible for killing them was trusted to keep them safe and his wife had no reason to believe he was preparing to commit such awful crimes.

"She was completely unaware that he was at the time suffering from a delusional disorder which led him to take the terrible decision to kill his children, in a misguided attempt to protect them, before attempting to kill himself.

“The CPS accepted the views of three medical experts that he was clearly driven to this by a serious medical disorder. Throughout this case the prosecution and the police have supported the children’s mother through what have been very traumatic and difficult court proceedings. Our thoughts remain with her at this time.”

An NSPCC spokesperson added: “This is a tragic case in which two young children sadly lost their lives in the care of someone trusted to protect them.

“We all have a duty to look out for the welfare of children. If anyone has any concerns about a child please call the NSPCC’s helpline, free and in confidence on 0808 800 5000.”