A mother arrested on suspicion of murdering her twin two year olds after she was involved in a car crash has been pictured for the first time.
Samantha Ford is being held by police after her two children, Jake and Chloe, were found dying at their home on a new-build estate in Westwood near Margate, Kent.
The twins’ father, Steven Ford, posted a picture of him and Chloe online last week, with the caption: ‘Snuggling with my fave girl #daughter #myworld #twins’
Emergency services discovered the children after 37-year-old Samantha was pulled from the wreckage of a crash on a dual carriageway at 2.50am yesterday morning.
Detectives are said to be examining the theory she crashed the family’s Ford Galaxy deliberately.
Forensics experts remain at the house today and have been seen removing pillows wrapped in evidence bags, as well as children’s mattresses and pillowcases.
Samantha Ford is being held after her two children were found dying at their home on a new-build estate in Westwood near Margate, Kent.
The two children who tragically died are understood to be Ford’s two year olds Jake and Chloe
The children’s father, Steven Ford, posted a photo of himself with his daughter just days before the twins’ tragic deaths
Officers who drove her home found two dying children. The youngsters were taken to hospital around 3.35am where doctors battled to save their lives, but both were declared dead shortly after arriving.
Ford’s brother, James Emptage, today told The Sun that the deaths were ‘a terrible tragedy’. Her grandmother described the two children as ‘lovely’.
Photos posted on social media show Ford and her husband Steven enjoying days out with the children in the summer this year. They are believed to have lived in nearby Ashford until recently.
Ford was today being quizzed about the double deaths after being released from hospital following treatment for the crash injuries, and immediately being taken into police custody.
Neighbours said the mother had only just moved into the £215,000 property, which was privately rented through a local letting agent.
Police were called in the early hours of yesterday morning when Ford crashed into the back of a lorry on the A299 near the popular seaside town of Whitstable.
She managed to escape with minor injuries despite the impact causing her car bonnet to completely crumple.
Samantha Ford was pictured online with the twins and her husband Steven last year
Devastated neighbours have left soft toy tributes outside the home where the two children were found dying in the early hours of yesterday morning
Ford was held by police today as they investigate how the children came to suffer fatal injuries
Police boarded up the home near Margate, Kent, which Ford had only recently moved into
Officers drove her the 15 miles back to her Margate home over concerns for the welfare of her family.
On arrival 45 minutes later they found the two children.
The semi-detached property was sealed off last night as forensics teams carried a number of white evidence bags along with two pillow cases from the house.
A pink bicycle could be seen lying in the hall of the property as two uniformed officers stood guard at the front door.
Kent Police refused to identify the ages of the children nor confirm their sex to avoid them being identified.
The woman was taken to hospital after a collision between a car and a lorry on the A299 at 2.50am. Less than an hour later, officers attended an address in Castle Drive, 13 miles from the scene of the car crash, where they found the children
Forensic officers are working at a property in Margate after a woman was arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of two young children
One resident, who asked not to be named, said she understood the arrested woman to be a single mother who had moved into the house with her two children around three weeks ago.
She said: ‘I’ve heard the children are toddlers and one of them is two. We pass people round here and say hello to neighbours, but other than that, everyone keeps themselves to themselves.
‘Something like this shocks you when it’s on your doorstep.’ It is not known why the mother was travelling on the London-bound carriageway of the A299 Thanet Way in the middle of the night.
She was taken to hospital with what one neighbour claimed was a broken nose, but was later discharged and taken into custody at a Kent police station.
Police last night confirmed that a woman had been arrested on suspicion of murder following the deaths of two children.
The children were found injured in this home on Castle Drive and were taken to hospital where they were declared dead. An officer stands guard outside the property
A Kent Police spokesman said: ‘The South East Coast Ambulance Service also attended and two young children were taken to hospital, where they were later declared deceased.
‘Police remain at the scene and a 37-year-old woman from Margate has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The woman had been involved in a road traffic collision on the A299 Thanet Way at around 2.50am and was taken to hospital with minor injuries
‘She has now been discharged and taken into custody at a police station.’
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.