Boys aged 7 and 9 found dead in south London home after being 'strangled by mother', who then killed herself
11 March 2023, 07:20 | Updated: 11 March 2023, 16:59
A pair of young boys were found dead alongside their mother, who is thought to have strangled or suffocated them before killing herself.
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Property boss Nadja De Jager, 47, and her two sons nine-year-old Alexander and seven-year-old Maximus were found dead in their house on Mayfield road in Belvedere on Thursday.
It's thought that De Jager strangled or suffocated her sons, The Sun reported.
Officers are investigating but are not looking for anyone else in connection with the tragedy.
The boys featured in several poignant YouTube clips posted by their mum.
Videos posted by Ms De Jager on her channel and Facebook page of her two boys show heart-breaking scenes of normal life at home.
How to build child / children's/kid house?
One video shows Maximus struggling to build a children's play house at home, leading the older brother Alexander to take over and show him how it's done.
Maximus is seen trying to fit an attachment to a panel of the house, prompting Alexander to say "okay, I'll do it - and I can explain."
He then proceeds to fit the attachment while telling his mother, who is filming the video, how it's done. 'And boom!" he says triumphantly at the end.
You don't know my name experiment
A second video shows Maximus revealing his name, apparently written in some kind of invisible ink on a paper napkin, by dropping in a clear liquid on a tray.
"It works!," he says. "But it's soaked." Other clips show Alexander reading out poems he has written.
Max and the toothfairy
The oldest video, also filmed by Ms De Jager, shows Maximus delightedly finding a £1 coin from the tooth fairy after losing one of his baby teeth for the first time, and jumping up and down for joy.
Woman and two boys found dead inside London home
Officers were called at 11.50am on Thursday after reports of concern for the welfare of the people in the property.
A neighbour said the deaths of two young boys was an "absolute tragedy".
Marion Beazer, who lives on Mayfield Road, believed the woman had lived there with the two boys for around five years.
Despite this, she said she had "no idea of their names", but added: "It's an absolute tragedy to lose two young boys."
Another neighbour, Rachel Akinmuleya, said she was still in "shock" over the incident, having moved to the street recently.
"I haven’t really had time to process it because I'm still in shock," she told LBC.
"It's not nice to know that something like that has happened on the road you live on."
She added: "I don’t know who it was but my heart goes out to their family because this is not something that you really want to hear."
Police officers were going door to door, and a forensic van was parked near the house, where a children's basketball hoop sat in the driveway.
Three forensic officers left the house in Mayfield Road and started searching a silver Mitsubishi truck parked outside.
A handbag on the front passenger seat was searched and two children's car seats were seen in the back.
A children's scooter was also seen stored in the boot, with officers performing a thorough search before entering the property.
Detective Inspector Ollie Stride, investigating said: “This is a deeply sad case and we are continuing to establish the circumstances that led to this tragic incident.
“I would like to thank the local community for their cooperation while our officers go about their enquiries.
“Our thoughts today are very much with the family as they struggle to come to terms with their loss and we ask that their privacy be respected at this extremely difficult time.”
The next of kin have been notified and post-mortem examinations will be arranged soon.
The Met’s Specialist Crime Command is leading the investigation and a crime scene remains in place.
