Murder of the Kumari-Baker sisters

Rekha Kumari-Baker
Born	Rekha Kumari 1967 or 1968 (age 56–57)[1] India
Occupation	Waitress
Criminal status	Murder
Spouse	David Baker (former)
Children	Davina and Jasmine Kumari-Baker
Motive	Revenge against ex-partner
Conviction(s)	Murder
Criminal charge	Murder
Penalty	Life imprisonment (minimum tariff 33 years)
Details
Victims	Davina and Jasmine Kumari-Baker
Date	13 June 2007
Location(s)	Stretham, Cambridgeshire, England
Weapon	Knives

Davina and Jasmine Kumari-Baker were murdered by their mother who stabbed them to death at their home in Stretham, Cambridgeshire, England, while they slept on 13 June 2007.[2] Rekha Kumari-Baker was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 33 years.[1][3] In 2010 the BBC stated that the punishment was "one of the longest jail terms given to a woman in the UK in modern times."[4]

Murders

On the day of the murders, Rekha Kumari-Baker took her two daughters on a shopping trip to the Lakeside Centre, near Thurrock, Essex.[5]

The older daughter Davina, aged 16, was killed first, with Kumari-Baker stabbing her 39 times. The younger daughter Jasmine, aged 13, was found dead in her bed stabbed 29 times.[6] After the murder, Kumari-Baker called a friend of hers, who was a special constable, and admitted that she had murdered her children and said that she had "done something terrible".[5]

The prosecutor stated that Rekha Kumari-Baker killed the girls as a form of revenge against her ex-husband and father of the girls, David Baker.[7] The murderer had purchased kitchen knives, the murder weapons, from ASDA on 11 June.[2]

Judge Mr Justice Bean said that Rekha Kumari-Baker desired to "retaliate against David Baker and destroy the happiness in his life", but also said that her motive could not be fully determined by investigators.[8] He said that her defense was "flimsy and insubstantial".[9] The jury took 35 minutes to convict her.[10]

Council review

Cambridgeshire County Council conducted a review into the murders and found they could not have been prevented and listed recommendations for social workers in relation to the review.[4]

See also

• Louise Porton – fellow British female double killer who murdered her two daughters in 2018

Cases of filicide attributed to revenge against an ex-spouse:

• John Battaglia
• Elaine Campione
• Amy Hebert
• Charles Mihayo
• Aaron Schaffhausen

References

1. "Killer mother jailed for 33 years". BBC News. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
2. "Mother Rekha Kumari-Baker sentenced to 33 years for murders of children". The Daily Telegraph. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
3. "Restricted access - log in required". The Times online.^[dead link‍]
4. "Two child murders in Cambridgeshire 'not preventable'". BBC News. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
5. "Mother: I've done something terrible... I've killed the kids". Evening Standard. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
6. "Mother jailed for killing teen daughters". News.com.au. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
7. Siddique, Haroon (21 September 2009). "Mother guilty of murdering daughters". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
8. "Father tells of loss as mother is jailed for at least 33 years". The Herald. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
9. "33-year jail term for killer mother". Evening Standard. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
10. "Killer mother jailed for 33 years". BBC News. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2025.