Mother who murdered her two daughters after they 'got in the way' of her sex life. Video / YouTube / The Telegraph
The father of two daughters killed by their mother so she could have more time to do her sex work has paid tribute to them after their funerals.
Louise Porton was last month jailed for life after she suffocated her daughter Lexi Draper, 3, in January last year before killing little Scarlett Vaughan, 16 months, two weeks later.
The girls were taken on their final journey in a horse-drawn carriage. Photo / Facebook
A court heard that the UK escort refused father Chris Draper having access to the children and that she murdered the toddlers as they "got in the way of doing what she wanted, when she wanted and with who she wanted".
Now Chris Draper, who was continually tormented by Porton over whether he was their father, has tragically buried his children in an emotional funeral.
"Youll be missed but never forgotten sleep tight babys daddy got you [sic].
"Daddy will always have your back".
Chris Draper paid tribute to his two daughters on Facebook. Photo / Chris Draper
Later, he posted another Facebook message in response to media reports about the funerals, saying: "I dont see this a bad thing they have been on my facebook i see this as thankyou because now people know these girls was loved and know they have had the bigger send off [sic]."
Porton was ordered to serve a minimum of 32 years in prison after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Louise Porton, 23, suffocated Lexi and strangled Scarlett in Rugby, Warwickshire, in 2018, the Telegraph UK reported.
In video shown in court, the part-time model was seen casually leading Lexi into their home hours before she killed her on January 15 last year.
Porton, who had searched "can you actually die if you have a blocked nose and cover your mouth with tape" online, waited "for some time" before calling 999, a court heard.
Jurors were told that the mother-of-two did not seem distressed by Lexi's death and accepted 41 friend requests on the dating app Badoo a day later.
Porton killed her second daughter Scarlett less than three weeks later on February 1 and told a 111 call handler that her condition "did not seem urgent".
The toddler had died by the time paramedics arrived nine minutes later.
Louise Porton 'lied repeatedly to friends, family and professionals to cover her tracks'. Photo / Warwickshire Police
Porton, described as "calm and emotionless", denied all responsibility, telling police in a prepared statement: "I still don't know how my daughters died, or what caused it."
She was convicted of two counts of murder on Thursday following a five-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
The jury heard both children had symptoms consistent with deliberate airway obstruction and Scarlett had signs of recent bleeding in her neck tissue, suggestive of neck compression.
Opening the case, prosecutor Oliver Saxby QC said: "The overwhelming inference is that Lexi and Scarlett died because someone deliberately interfered with their breathing.
"That someone can only have been this defendant."
He added that the children "got in the way of [Porton] doing what she wanted, when she wanted and with whom she wanted".
Lexi Draper, left, and Scarlett Vaughan were killed by their mother. Photo / Warwickshire Police
Lexi had been taken to hospital twice less than two weeks before her death, but she was sent home with antibiotics for an apparent chest infection.
Prosecutors said that while in hospital with her sick daughter, Porton went to the toilets and took topless photos and was arranging to perform sex acts for money with a man she had met through a website.
It was in the days after Lexi was discharged on January 4, the prosecution alleged the mother looked online for "can you actually die if you have a blocked nose and cover your mouth with tape".
Porton also searched "how long after drowning can someone be resuscitated?" and accessed an article called "Toddler brought back to life after nearly drowning", jurors heard.
