Man butchered wife and their child after being kicked out of their house for being broke

UK: A "monstrous" killer who butchered his ex and their baby daughter with a hammer, machete and screwdriver "out of spite" has been jailed for life.

Bitter Roland McKoy unleashed a violent attack on terrified Valerie Forde before also murdering 22-month-old Jahzara in revenge for being kicked out the family home.

The mum was living in fear of McKoy, telling relatives she had to "pray" for her safety every day.

Today a judge jailed him for a minimum 35 years after a jury at the Old Bailey found the 54-year-old handyman guilty of double murder.

Judge Charles Wide told evil McKoy: "You did it out of spite and resentment that Valerie at long last had the strength and resolve to say that enough is enough and you had to go.

"She had given you three months and you had done precious little. You thought she was going to back down but she didn't and that was an affront to your monstrous egotism."

Community project manager Mrs Forde, 45, suffered 33 blows to her head and body during the sustained attack in March.

McKoy cut little Jahzara's throat before leaving a perverse note on his ex-partner's body blaming her for his vile actions.

It 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 destructions you creates in our families, our home and on yourself. Our fame in history. Roland."

During his trial, McKoy claimed Mrs Forde had murdered Jahzara while in the grip of a demonic "trance" at the three-bed terraced home they shared in Hackney, East London.

After finding the baby dead on the landing, he said he went to confront Mrs Forde in the bathroom and hit her with a hammer in "self-defence".

But prosecutor Ed Brown QC said McKoy had invented the story.

He said: "It is plain that the defendant had attacked Valerie Forde with the hammer, slashed her face and neck with the machete and stabbed her multiple times with the screwdriver.

"It is equally clear from the evidence that the defendant used that same machete to cut Jahzara's neck from one side to the other. Each attack was a brutal one."

The prosecution said McKoy, who emigrated from Jamaica in the 1980s, had made a series of threats against his family before the murders.

In January this year, Mrs Forde texted her sister: "I have to be very very careful and pray for my safety each day and night."

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

Members of Mrs Forde's family wept and cheered when McKoy was convicted today.

Her "heartbroken" oldest daughter, Carrise, 28, said they had been in a living nightmare since the murders.

She said: "Time will never heal the hurt the loss, the pain, the betrayal and the yearning to hear their voices and laughter."

After the verdict, Mrs Forde's family said: "No matter how many years he receives, it will not bring Valerie and Jahzara back.

"The pain will still continue for our family for the rest of our lives. His actions have destroyed the lives of Valerie and Jahzara's family, friends and the wider community in Hackney. Their deaths will not be in vain."

Investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Charles King said: "Research has shown that women are at greatest risk of homicide at the point of separation or after leaving a violent partner.

"What Roland McKoy did on that day in March almost defies belief, but it i s a stark warning that extreme violence within such relationships is a very real possibility.

"McKoy lost control as the reality hit home that Valerie was adamant he must leave and carried out a horrific attack with a variety of weapons. Not only did he vent his fury at his partner but he also killed his baby daughter."