‘Mummy don’t kill me’: Ealing girl, 5, pleaded with mom as she strangled her to death and ‘trampled her with a blanket’

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A five-year-old girl begged her mother not to kill her because she strangled her to death at their home in west London.

Martina Madarova, the mother of Alija Thomas, had drawn her a cartoon before she did the act as the child said: “Mom, don’t kill me.”

Madarova proceeded to strangle Elijah, before “placing her with a blanket” in their home on Liburn Street in Ealing.

The 41-year-old Slovakian national, who had been struggling with mental health and had switched to alcohol during the Covid-19 lockdown, was in a “dark place” the night before Elijah’s tragic death.

The court heard that in the months leading up to the incident, family members and friends had become concerned about Madarova’s well-being as she appeared “increasingly nervous”.

READ MORE: CCTV appeal after 18-year-old boy was stabbed by 3 men on London bus

Police outside Madarova’s home after emergency services were called to the scene (Photo: David Nathan/999 London)

She was worried about her income, after her work hours as a caregiver had been reduced, and became anxious after she missed the deadline to enroll Elijah at school.

Combined with concerns about her mother contracting Covid-19 and being stuck in the apartment all day, she eventually began turning to alcohol as a “coping mechanism”.

In a statement read by Attorney General Duncan Atkinson QC, Elijah’s father, David Thomas, who remains in a close relationship with Madarova said: “A week before Elijah’s death, I took four days off to help arrange the school venue and calm Martina. She was not the same .

“It was clearly not the same. I was asking her to get herself checked out to the GP because she looked depressed.

“She was putting a lot of pressure on herself. During our discussions about things, she would start crying and go into another room.”

“She killed her life,” Martina Madarova was imprisoned for five years

On the morning of September 14, Alija’s father had left early for work and had been notified a few hours later by a phone call from Madarova that their daughter had died.

Being far from the family home, he called his brother and a family friend who rushed to the scene of the accident.

There, they found Elijah “folded in a blanket as if she was sleeping” but she had no pulse and was “cold to the touch”.

Emergency services were called at 12.56pm but Alijah was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr. Atkinson told the court that Madarova had consumed two bottles of wine and told the family friend present: “She is no longer around, I have done so, I have let my daughter down.”

While in the ambulance she also said, “My daughter, what did you do? My daughter, her life, you killed her life. She was the most beautiful thing.”

Alija’s final moments were revealed after Madarova told medics that her daughter had said, “Mama, don’t kill me.”

She replied: “I do not want to kill you, I only want to help you, no child, you are safe,” Elijah replied, “No mummy, you are killing me.”

Her plan was to kill her daughter and then commit suicide.

While in police custody, she was described as “sad” and when asked if she heard voices in her head, she replied, “What I did is not normal, I’ll be in all the news, voices in my country Head told me to do it now – I deserve the death penalty.”

“It is rare for a mother to choke her child, I am the ultimate killer.” c

When a psychiatrist asked her about her version of events, she said, “I know I escorted me from the bedroom to the living room. I put her animations on. She would find me crying. I was with her for a while.”

“It was so embarrassing, my daughter trying to help me. That’s when I felt like a failure. An emotional, physical and spiritual mess. Nothing was right.”

She was charged with the murder of her daughter and at a hearing on December 7 pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to her diminished responsibility.

A poignant statement of impact from Aaliyah’s father, David Thomas, was read aloud to the court, in which he described the “devastating” impact her death had on his family.

He said, “I don’t think I’ll ever get over losing her this way, she was such a smart kid. We’d take tube together and I’d miss those little adventures together, she would ask questions and we would talk about the world.”

“I was so proud of her – she would have been an athlete, she had the speed. I would miss everything about her, watching her sleep, hugging me before bed, patting her hair, combing her hair.”

Speaking of Madarova, he said his family had “no malice” towards her and said she was the “best mother” who would not intentionally harm their daughter except for her mental health.

He said, “She’s the most innocent person you could ever meet. She sees the good in everyone and in everything. I was so shocked by what happened because that’s just not her.”

“Martina would do anything for me or Alia. She did not like violence and would not allow Elijah to watch cartoons that have an element of violence in them.” c.

Describing his mother as his “rock,” he said, “She is not only upset by the loss of Alia but by the fact that Martina is sitting in prison.

“She doesn’t have a bad word to say against her, she finds it hard to sleep thinking about Martina.”

Today (Friday, January 28) in Old Bailey, Madarova was sentenced to five years in prison. Judge Richard Marks QC ruled that she had “low responsibility” for Elijah’s death.

He noted that prior to the accident, Madarova was a “perfect mother” and that there was no evidence of her mistreatment of Elijah at any time prior to the accident.

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However, the defendant was told that she ignored multiple warnings from friends and family to seek medical advice and failed to do so, turning to alcohol instead.

He told the court: “There are understandable reasons why someone in your case would not seek the help you so desperately need.”

He admitted her “real remorse” and told her, “You have to live with what you did for the rest of your life.”

Madarova was visibly emotional in the dock and cried throughout the sentence.

Elijah’s father, who sat throughout the hearing, was praised for his approach to the tragic case, with the judge telling him: “How impressed I am with the way you handled these matters – no one can act with higher dignity.”

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