Mother heard husband kill sons

A MOTHER listened on the phone as her estranged husband killed himself and their four young children, an inquest in Wales heard yesterday.

Farm labourer Keith Young, 38, drove his sons Joshua, seven, Thomas, six, Callum, five and Daniel, three to a beauty spot near Llangollen, North Wales.

Mr Young, from Winsford, Cheshire, then gassed them by running a petrol lawnmower in the back of the family car. He was separated from his wife Samantha but was seeing the boys on an access visit.

At an inquest in Wrexham, North East Wales coroner John Hughes recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on the four boys and that Keith Young took his own life.

The coroner told the court it was one of the most harrowing cases he had ever dealt with.

Mr Young’s wife, who now goes by the name Samantha Tolley, had recently told him she was pregnant by another man.

The court heard how on the night of their deaths, March 27, 28-year-old Ms Tolley telephoned Mr Young after hearing he had threatened to kill the children.

Reading Ms Tolley’s evidence, the coroner said: “You called him and he answered the phone. Without even saying hello he said: ‘Save your breath’. You asked where he was and he said you don’t need to know. You asked where the boys were and he said they were in the jeep with him.”

Mr Young went on to say that even if she called the police, it was too late, they would never find him in time.

He added: “I hope you are happy. I hope you have a grudge against that baby for the rest of your life.”

The inquest heard that Mr Young called the boys’ mother again at 1.15am on March 28.

She listened in horror as he told Joshua to say goodbye and then informed her as each of the boys died.

Mr Hughes, reading Miss Tolley’s evidence, said: “Keith called you and you, in your desperation, told him you would get rid of the baby if he came home and you would make it work.

“He said ‘It’s too late, you would have me arrested’.

“You said ‘It’s not too late’.

“He said ‘It is too late, Dan’s dead’.

“You asked to speak to the others and Keith put Josh on the telephone. Just before he handed over the phone he said ‘Say goodbye to your mum, tell her you love her’. And that is exactly what Josh, bless him, did.”

Mr Young began breathing heavily, and for 20 minutes Miss Tolley screamed into the phone in an attempt to wake them.

The four boys and their father were eventually found by police on the Horseshoe Path in Llangollen at around 2am on March 28.

The youngsters were dressed in their pyjamas and with pillows and quilts.

A Home Office pathologist found that Mr Young and his four children had died from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of breathing in fumes from the petrol lawnmower. He said their deaths would have been painless as they became drowsy and fell asleep.

Speaking outside court, Ms Tolley’s solicitor Sarah Lapsley said her client would be tormented by the tragedy for the rest of her life. “Whilst the boys suffering has ended, their mother’s torment continues on a daily basis and will do so for the rest of her life.”