Woman Drowned 3-Year-Old Daughter In Bath To Keep Her Away From Husband

A woman drowned her three-year-old daughter in a bathtub to keep her away from her husband, who she suspected was having an affair with a colleague, a court in the United Kingdom heard Thursday.

Claire Colebourn, a former science teacher, killed Bethan Colebourn at their home in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in October 2017, before trying to kill herself. The girl’s body was found on a bed the day after the incident with her hair still wet.

The court heard Claire mistakenly believed her husband was cheating on her with a colleague at the firm they worked in. She researched "drowning" on the internet before killing her daughter and also looked for information on cemeteries nearby. Post her arrest, Claire told officers she held her daughter under the water. She also said her daughter was reluctant to take a bath and said, “I don’t want a bath, Mummy, I don’t want a bath.”

Kerry Maylin, the prosecutor, said, “Bethan was put in the bath and held under the water by her mother. When she was found, she still had wet hair,” adding, “Claire had unfounded thoughts in relation to her husband having an affair with a colleague,” the Guardian reported.

Detailing the conversation Claire had with the officers, Maylin said, “Claire Colebourn said 'I did it because I did not want her to go anywhere near her father'. Claire added 'I drowned my own daughter. She did not fight. Her hands and arms were tucked under her body. I think, sadly, she had complete trust in me'. Claire told the officers 'I did what I did for Bethan'.”

“She confirmed when Bethan came out of the water she was already dead. She said she took her to the downstairs bedroom, wrapped her under her arm and then injected herself with insulin.” Maylin told the court, Daily Mail reported.

Describing the incident, Claire said, “She kept coming back to me, she put her hand on my cheeks, told me she loved me and said, 'I do not want a bath, I do not want a bath.’ I waited for the bath to fill, I have never been so stressed in my life. I drowned my own daughter, I drowned my own daughter.”

Michael Colebourn, the girl’s father, told the court that he met his daughter a few days before her death and that she had kissed him goodbye.

“Claire was not happy I was seeing Bethan but eventually she allowed me to have her for the day. I dropped Bethan home about 5 p.m. Bethan kissed and hugged me, then went into the house. She was happy, she was pleased to see the dog. She was fine,” he said.

The case was ongoing.