A coroner has ruled that two boys found dead at the bottom of cliffs in East Sussex were unlawfully killed after being drugged by their father, who had earlier stabbed their mother to death. The bodies of Claudio, 10, and Joaquin, seven, were discovered alongside their father Adelino Gabriel Figueira de Faria at the foot of Birling Gap on 5 March 2018.
The inquest at West London Coroner's Court heard that the boys' mother, Laura Cecilia Navarrete De Figueira, 47, was found dead at the family home in Twickenham the same day. She had suffered more than 60 wounds, and wounds on her hands and fingers suggested she had attempted to fight back. The coroner described the attack as 'particularly savage and brutal'.
Traces of a sedative normally prescribed only to adults were found in both children and their mother. Forensic pathologist Charlotte Randall said it was not possible to determine whether the boys jumped, fell, or were pushed from the 200ft (61m) cliff.
A dog walker told the inquest she saw a male figure holding the hands of two boys in bright red jackets, walking away from her. She said: 'The children looked tired, they were walking in a reluctant manner - not the way you would expect a child to walk unless they were tired.'
The coroner ruled that Mrs Figueira and her sons were unlawfully killed. A separate inquest concluded that Mr Figueira de Faria died by suicide. Coroner Sean Cummings expressed his condolences, saying: 'This is a terribly sad case.'
