'Controlling mum killed her children and left them in holdalls in car boot to punish husband for alleged affair'
Last updated at 10:41 AM on 12th July 2011
Fiona Donnison appeared in court today for the opening of her trial for the alleged murder of her two children
A jealous wife murdered her two young children to punish her estranged husband after he met another woman, a court heard today.
Fiona Donnison, 45, suffocated Harry, three, and Elise, two, when she wrongly suspected her husband Paul had started an affair with an old schoolfriend.
She then armed herself with two kitchen knives in an attempt to kill Paul, 48, and blame him for the death of their children, it was alleged.
But Mr Donnison did not return to the family home that night. The next day she handed herself in to police saying she had killed her children.
A jury at Lewes Crown Court was told that the city banker was a controlling narcissist who wanted to make Mr Donnison’s life ‘as miserable as possible’ to the extent that she ‘used her children as the ultimate and final weapon’.
The couple had separated five months earlier when Donnison had abruptly left the £450,000 family home in Heathfield, east Sussex, taking the children with her.
She had just been made redundant from her high-flying job and was convinced that Mr Donnison was seeing someone else.
But despite Mr Donnison attempting a reconciliation, he finally said he could take no more of her ‘controlling’ behaviour and ended the relationship in January last year.
Christine Laing QC, prosecuting, said: ‘Many of the things she did to Paul Donnison were not as a result of any suppressed fear [of him] but arose out of anger and jealously as he had rejected her.
‘We say the killing of Harry and Elise was the final and most terrible of these acts.’
The two children’s bodies were found in the boot of Donnison’s Nissan car on the morning of 27 January last year, dressed in their pyjamas and zipped into separate sports bags.
They had most likely been suffocated with pillows, Miss Laing said, at Donnison’s rented house in Lightwater, Surrey, the evening before.
She had then driven the 90 miles to the former family home to wait for her estranged husband.
Miss Laing said: ‘She entered the property carrying two large kitchen knives which she had brought from the Lightwater house.
The court heard that Elise Donnison, two, and her brother Harry, three, were allegedly suffocated by their mother
‘We suggest that the purpose was, having informed Paul Donnison of the deaths of the children, the defendant intended to kill him and no doubt blame him for the killings of the children.’
But when Mr Donnison failed to return home that night, staying instead in Windsor where he worked in financial services, she handed herself in to police.
The couple met in 1999 when both worked for the same financial services company in the City, and were both married to other people.
They went on to have a daughter Mia in Autumn 2003, who sadly died of suspected cot death in April 2004.
But their often-strained relationship was exacerbated by issues concerning Donnison’s two teenage sons from her previous marriage who lived with them and the huge debts she had accumulated.
Miss Laing said: ‘Paul Donnison described her as always wanting bigger and better things than they could afford.
‘She was concerned with having the biggest and best of everything.’
She added that Donnison would taunt her husband that she was the bigger earner and refer to herself as the MBW – the main breadwinner.
But she continued to spend above her means and in September 2009 she had again accrued substantial debts of around £40,000.
Miss Laing told jurors Donnison will claim she lived in fear of her husband but: ‘Why any of this resulted in the defendant killing the children, she has not said.
‘She claims to have no memory at all of the events that led to the killing of Harry and Elise.
‘We say that responsibility lies not as a result of any mental illness but we say as a result of her personality.’
Donnison denies the two counts of murder.
The case continues.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013572/Fiona-Donnison-murdered-toddlers-left-car-boot-split-husband.html#ixzz1RuRQuCpa
15 comments:
She had lost her job and her husband, who could stand no more of her.
We should never underestimate what such personality disordered individuals are capable of when their own perfect little world falls apart.
Or that the natural love of children that ordinary people feel, does not afflict a controlling narcissist. They really could not care less, they are mere pawns in their games.
Does this sound a bit like Kate or Gerry, well yes, it does.
Going the garden to put some plants in!
RIP sweet little ones, (and the other who suffered a "cot death") sadly, you cannot choose your "parents".
Quite how this poor man must feel now, God only knows.
xxx
But I suppose in fairness it is right to point out we have so far only heard the Prosecution/Daily Mail side of the case. He may not actually be a lot nicer. Pity he did not get the children off her, but I suppose he could just never imagine losing some more children.
I wonder how touch she will be inside a womens' prison?
Hi Viv
What a sad situation, it just shows what people are capable of when they are not thinking straight. It was a terrible revenge on her ex husband, those poor children.
I have just read your comment from Rebekah Brooks about PR men, stating the SUN & NOTW were printing stories some of which were complete viction, why does this not surprise me!
It perhaps could also be said that with all this phone hacking going on, some stories that were printed could also have been true but had to later be retracted when they were threatened.
Hiya Di
In the earlier days of the Sun and NOW on the McCann case there were actually some pretty hostile reports about them.
I do think that Clarence done a deal with Murdoch's papers that if they printed the bulletins he wanted printing (often via Freud it would seem) then they could all get rich quick out of the Maddie story. Some of those pictures and stories were actually really funny, if it were not such a sad subject. I can just imagine hardened hacks laughing as they put those pictures together with the ridiculous words. I wonder how many times they used that picture of Maddie in her red dress?
I think that many of the stories were true in 2007 or at least a true reflection of the Portuguese investigation and what was thougt at that time.
I have to say that since Kate has been gatecrashing the genuine sadness of others with missing people and writing that book, my worst thoughts about what she may be capable of come back to the fore. There has always been another explanation as to how she got those bruises, she made Gerry very angry but he had good reason to be. She is clearly far removed from normal as can be evidenced by some of the foul and intensely personal comments she saw fit to sell in her book.
Why is it the McCann start actions against people but never finish them, Tony Bennett, Goncalo Amaral?
The Daily Express, The Chief Constable of Leicester Police (both settled without proceeding any further)
We all know, bribes have gone on for years, especially in the press.
What we are seeing are MPs milking this for all it is worth to score points. Don't get me wrong, i am apalled by the hacking, but if a better story came along tomorrow this would be cast aside and brushed under the carpet.
I am sure there are many that would hope this was the case, hopefully there are also many that make sure it won't be.
Hiya Di
Well I will grant, Milliband is adopting a sanctimonious, holier than thou attitude which in light of what you say, and is undoubtedly correct shows that he is just a politician after all.
But there is one thing I love about this story, the end of Kate and Gerry McScam and their own very personal way of getting richer.
Oh LoL the Pay button got stuck on their online store, I wonder if those naughty cops at London Met been messin with it? It must be a real issue for the McGrabs when their money button is not working properly.
Face Book -Monday 11 July 2011
Devon Holcombe
Around a month ago i contacted a member of the team saying i was unable to pay on the online store. A friend is experiencing the same problem now. Would be really good if it could get fixed. Thoughts with madeleine always x
12 hours ago
Official Find Madeleine Campaign
Amanda, it's alright for Devon to post here about the store. We have been having problems with the store. It's something on paypal's end and we have to tell them it's an issue. Thanks ladies for letting us know.
10 hours ago
Oh dear, this is going to be like red rag to Tony, seriously can you believe the carp on their official site, oooh we love you Muckans, can we buy some of your goodies, please...morons!
Face Book -Tuesday 12 July 2011
Inês Carrola Costa
QUESTION: If we ever want to send a letter to the McCanns, how can we do it? thank you ♥
7 hours ago
Official Find Madeleine Campaign
Letters can be sent to: P.O. Box 9880
Leicester
LE7 7UJ
7 hours ago.
Hi Viv
Quote
the end of Kate and Gerry McScam and their own very personal way of getting richer.
I do hope so, but finding Madeleine and putting closure to this incredible case which has now gone on for four years,smeared not only Portugal and their PJ but our police as well is going to take some time imo.
Hiya Di
Sadly, we do not know if the police in Portugal or UK can recover little Maddie.
But Cameron seems to be wanting to come clean, even cutting Murdoch adrift, and so, for her parents I think the end is in sight.
But, as you imply, these things can be so complex and can take a huge amount of time. What stage they are at, we can but guess, but there are four years in.
It is hard to imagine Cameron would so publically have put his name to this, if he had not been fully briefed, this case can be solved. I really hope so, it would be nice for this blog to feel we have achieved what we wanted to see happen. You and me both have certainly stayed the course!
xxx
What we just want to see is the recovery of little Maddie, whether she is dead or alive. Yes, sometimes that seems like a forlorn hope, especially when listening to her arrogant father.
At the very least, she deserves a decent burial and the chance for her friends and relatives to properly put her to rest and mourn.
If she is still alive, then she needs rescuing from "the situation she finds herself in" to quote the words of her heartless father.
We have let those in power know we want a result, we can but hope now there is a full scale investigation ongoing and that is what we will get. Justice for little Maddie and in turn, all abused little children, not least her twin brother and sister who have to grow up and face this nightmare their parents created.
A little extract and reminder, from Kate's message to her fans. These are the words of a trained GP who is telling us "my eyes have certainly been opened". I wonder when that happened, given she was immediately writing in her diary, paedophiles make her want to rip her skin off. That did not stop her acting as though she had not a care in the world on her extended holiday in Praia da Luz :
Kate McCann says:
All missing children are vulnerable to exploitation including sexual exploitation, with this being the motive in many of those cases of stranger abductions where a motive can be determined. Child sexual exploitation and child pornography in particular, is sadly and shockingly extensive worldwide. It is a multi-billion dollar industry aided by the use of the Internet with the ‘thirst’ for younger victims growing. Once again, my ‘bubble’ of a life burst as I began to discover the facts relating to this now global crisis. As we travelled through Europe in an attempt to raise awareness of Madeleine's abduction and appeal for help, we were repeatedly made aware of the unbelievable existence of such a horrifying activity and its vastness in our so called civilised and ‘child-loving’ society. How can such ‘businesses’ be condoned or tolerated by us all? What are the benefits for our children of being in a European Union where several member countries offer child pornography as a LEGAL past time? The most vulnerable members of our society are our children and they deserve better than this. Lack of sex offender registers, lack of reliable tracking systems for known offenders and no CRB check requirements , not even for those working with children are other major areas of concern within many parts of Europe. My eyes have certainly been opened to a whole new world out there - a very worrying one.
Why does Kate focus on "child pornography" in particular?
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