Evil mum who drowned twins will walk free on fifth anniversary of …
An evil mum who drowned her twin toddlers in the bath[1] is set to walk free having never served a single day in prison. Samantha Ford admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility[2] but denied murdering 23-month-old children Jake and Chloe before being jailed for 10 years. However, since her sentencing in August 2019 she has been at a psychiatric hospital waiting to be deemed fit to begin serving in a prison.
HM Prison and Probation Service has confirmed Ford will be released on December 26 this year - on the five-year anniversary of her children's deaths. Devastated father to the twins Steven Ford described his estranged wife as a "child killer" in a tweet about her impending release.
Grieving dad may lose home after mum who killed twins launches jail divorce bid[3]
Samantha and Steven with their twin babies Jake and Chloe (Kent Live/BPM MEDIA)
Samantha split from Steven weeks before killing their children (Internet Unknown)
He wrote on Twitter[4]: "HM Prison and Probation Service have confirmed that on December 26, 2023, this child killer will be released without serving a single day in prison. "On the 5th anniversary, she will be released.
I still can't get my divorce from this evil woman because she holds all the cards." In another tweet, he added: "She played the system perfectly like we all knew she would."
Jake and Chloe were just 23-months-old when they died (PA)
Ford - who had given birth through IVF - split from Steven weeks before the deaths at her rented home near Margate, Kent, on Boxing Day 2018. She went on to crash her Ford Galaxy car into a lorry on the A299 near Whitstable at 100mph the following day in an effort to take her own life.
Ford told police at the scene[5] of the crash: "I've killed my babies. Please let me die.
Samantha Ford (Facebook)
"I put them in the bath. We were meant to be together."
She added: "I would never hurt them, they are my miracle babies." She also said: "This is all a dream. I should have gone to the hospital sooner.
He's messing with my head." Ford pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, despite googling "how to drown someone" in the weeks before the crime. Her legal team claimed Ford was suffering from acute depression at the time of the killings.
However, psychiatrists for the prosecution at the Old Bailey said she may have been exaggerating her illness. One claimed she killed the twins in a fit of "narcissistic rage". But the prosecution ultimately accepted the lesser charges.
Steven, pictured with Chloe, has been trying to divorce his estranged wife (@Steven4rd/Twitter)
Steven described his wife as 'evil' (Steven Ford)
Ford was sentenced in August 2019 to two 10-year custodial terms, to run concurrently.
She is currently in Trevor Gibbens psychiatric unit in Maidstone, Kent, until she is deemed fit enough to be moved to a prison. It is understood that while the five-year point referred to by Mr Ford would be the usual point where release is considered, in this instance the specific date would be a matter for clinicians to decide upon. A Ministry of Justice Spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with Mr Ford and his family given the unimaginable pain and grief they have endured.
"Samantha Ford continues to serve the sentence that the court handed down."