Man 'killed ex-partner and child with machete and hammer'

A man beat his ex-partner to death with a machete, hammer and screwdriver and slit his baby daughter's throat before leaving a note blaming his ex for what he had done, the Old Bailey has heard.

Roland McKoy is charged with murdering Valerie Forde, 45, and 22-month-old Jahzara at the family home in Hackney, north London, on 31 March.

The brutal attack was witnessed by Mrs Forde's 28-year-old daughter Carrise.

Mr McKoy, 54, denies the murders.

'Pray for my safety'

Three months before the deaths, community worker Mrs Forde had ended her 18-year relationship with Mr McKoy and had set 31 March as a deadline for him to move out of the three-bedroom terrace house, the court heard.

But in the weeks leading up to the date Mr McKoy, a handyman, had become "jealous and difficult", repeatedly threatening to kill her and himself.

In January, Mrs Forde texted her sister saying "I have to be very very careful and pray for my safety each day and night", jurors were told.

The following month, she reported Mr McKoy to police after he told a neighbour he was going to burn the house down with everyone including himself inside, the court heard.

Mrs Forde began tape recording their conversations or ringing an aunt or her older daughter Carrise Forde on an "open line".

On the day of the alleged murders, Mr McKoy had still not moved out and the argument that ensued was allegedly overheard down the phone by Ms Forde.

She heard screams from her mother and half-sister before the defendant said: "This is the destruction that you have brought on to the family", jurors heard.

The court heard the young child had seen her mother being killed before Mr McKoy slit her throat with the machete.

'Beyond sensible comprehension'

Police went to the house in Oswald's Meade and found Mrs Forde and Jahzara dead on the first floor.

Beside them, Mr McKoy was curled up in a foetal position surrounded by weapons, the jury heard.

When he was roused, he was sick and his vomit smelled of bleach, the court heard.

Mr Brown told jurors a note had been found on the dead woman's face that "seeks in some perverse way to blame Valerie Forde for what had happened".

The note read: "Valerie Forde you never stop playing derty ticks (sic) for many years on all people places and things you targets. Now the world must see the sudden destru..tions you creates in our families, our home and on yourself Our fame in history Roland."

Prosecutor Ed Brown QC said the motive for the double murder was "beyond sensible comprehension" but the evidence suggested it was "little more than anger and resentment".

The court heard how Mrs Forde's relationship with Mr McKoy began in 1996 but hit the rocks after she discovered he was already married to a woman called Pamela McKoy.

The trial continues.