MOTHER WHO KILLED HER TWINS OVER DEBTS AND MENTAL HEALTH BATTLES
A WOMAN, plagued by debt after her husband left her, killed her seven-year-old twins and attempted suicide to escape her financial problems, a court was told yesterday.Janice Miller crushed a lethal dose of painkillers and sprinkled them into her children's juice before putting them to bed.
She then set fire to their bedroom, slashed at her own wrists, and lay on her kitchen floor in front of her cooker, which had all the gas ducts turned on.
She was sentenced to be detained at the State Hospital, Carstairs, at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday.
Miller, 31, told police after she was rescued from her home: 'I promised my weans I'd never leave them, wherever I went they would go.
If I'd known I would still be alive after them, I would not have given them it.
I told them that we would be together.' The twins, Louise and Kevin, had been dead from a drug overdose by the time their mother set fire to their bedroom.
The court heard that Miller, who was estranged from her husband William, was plagued by money worries.
The High Court heard Miller's struggles with debt, her mental health issues, her history of depression after her children were born, and her financial difficulties after her separation from her husband.
On the day of the tragedy, she told friends of her worries and felt suicidal.
The court heard she admitted to the police that she had put tablets in the children's drinks and lit their bedroom on fire, believing it was the only way to escape her debts.
She later confessed to police that she had put the tablets into the childrens' drinks, stating: 'But they weren't supposed to die.
I lit a magazine and put it beside the kids' beds.
I never meant to ...
they've already had one parent leaving them.
I just want to die.' The court was told that she was suffering from diminished responsibility at the time.
Miller had a long-term history of depression, especially after her children were born.
She and her husband separated in 1995, and she was living in temporary accommodation before moving into a new house.
Despite appearing normal to friends and enjoying her life with her children, financial worries persisted.
On the morning of the incident, she spoke briefly with friends about her worries and was advised to contact creditors.
She was found near the scene after the fire, having tried to take her own life.
The judge deferred sentence until September 22 for psychiatric assessments, and her husband was not present in court.
