Man found guilty of murdering his two young children and partner

Dec 17, 2021

A man has been found guilty of murdering his partner and two young children, one of whom was not even a month old.

Jordan Monaghan, 30, obstructed the airways of Ruby, aged 24 days, and Logan, 21 months, in January and August 2013.

The gambling addict later killed his new girlfriend Evie Adams, 23, with a drug overdose in October 2019.

Laura Gray, the children’s mother, was heard weeping in the public gallery as the verdicts were given following a 10-week trial at Preston Crown Court.

Ruby was smothered as she slept in her Moses basket on New Year’s Day, 2013.

Eight months later, after Miss Gray discovered Monaghan owed thousands of pounds in gambling debts, she told him the relationship was over.

The next day he took their son, Logan, to a local swimming pool – Waves in Blackburn.

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He smothered the boy in a cubicle in the changing rooms, the jury heard.

Ruby’s death was initially attributed to bronchiolitis, whole Logan’s was described as “unascertained”.

Doctors had seen both children in the days and months before their deaths, but nothing other than usual childhood illnesses was found.

Monaghan, a construction worker, was arrested in 2018 after new information came to light about the deaths of the children.

Ms Adams, a mother-of-one who suffered “chronic abuse” before becoming a foster child aged 12, was warned by police not to be with Monaghan.

But the relationship continued until Miss Adams threatened to dump Monaghan, who told her: “I won’t keep putting up with you saying we are over.”

When he murdered Ms Adams with a cocktail of prescription drugs, he was on police bail for the youngsters’ murder.

Miss Adams was found to have tramadol, diazepam, amitriptyline, zopiclone and pregabalin in her body.

He killed because he could not face rejection, the court heard during his 10-week trial.

Monaghan was convicted of the three murders and two counts of attempted murder to a third child who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

He was not in court to hear the verdicts after suffering from a minor illness, and is due to be sentenced on Friday afternoon.

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