Father 'made farewell video before killing children', UK court hears
A jealous father made a “farewell video” of his two young children before strangling them in a “spiteful reaction” to the breakdown of his marriage, a court heard today.
Petros Williams (aged 37) urged his four-year-old daughter Yolanda Molemohi and two-year-old son Theo to say goodbye to their mother in the home-made film, which was played to a jury at Manchester Crown Court.
The tape was among a host of handwritten notes found at his flat in Whalley Range, Manchester, after his wife Morongoe (aged 30) discovered their bodies last October.
It was labelled “Daddy, Yolly, Theo. Byee The End” with a note attached which read: “Play the video, made for your memories, thank you, Petros.”
Zimbabwe-born Williams was said to be jealous that his wife had started to meet other men through internet dating websites.
Andrew Thomas QC, prosecuting, said the defendant even chose internet connection cables from the family computer to kill his children as a “symbolic act of punishment” to his wife.
He said: “The prosecution say it was a spiteful, selfish reaction to the breakdown of his marriage. It was a deliberate act and the prosecution say this was murder.”
The video shows the children sitting in the living room, with Williams initially behind the camera asking them: “Where’s mummy?”
Yolanda answers “Gone”, before the defendant is heard to say: “Daddy will take you to school in the morning.”
Williams then joins them on the sofa and tells them: “Say bye, mummy.”
His daughter does so and both smiling children then wave to the camera.
Mr Thomas said: “It is hard to say why the defendant made the video at the time and whether he had decided to take the drastic action he took two days later.”
He added: “The prosecution say that it was a sort of farewell video from the defendant and his children to the mother.”
Williams denies two counts of murder.
