Darren Flux-Edmonds killed his daughter Keziah Flux-Edmonds and then hanged himself after his wife left him. Photo / Facebook
A father drowned his 6-year-old daughter and placed her body next to the pet dogs he also killed before hanging himself to punish his wife for leaving, an inquest has heard.
Keziah Flux-Edmonds was killed by her father Darren, 44, who drowned her in the bathtub of the family home before laying her body in the master bedroom.
The father-of-one also killed the family's two terriers. Keziah's lifeless body was found with her arms wrapped around her beloved pets Arnie and Maximus.
The dogs were soaking wet and it is believed Flux-Edmonds drowned them too.
Flux-Edmonds, who suffered from depression, was looking after Keziah while her mother Nikki Flux-Edmonds was at work for an hour. He sent her a chilling text 25 minutes after she left the house.
The inquest heard the long message began with 'Congratulations' and ended with: "You have left me with nothing, I'll leave you with only memories."
It also emerged today that Flux-Edmonds had seen a therapist over his mental health, and revealed in sessions how he had nightmares about murdering his wife and daughter.
Nikki Flux-Edmonds had separated from her husband of 12 years in April this year and he was living with his mother June Flux at her home.
Isle of Wight Coroners Court today heard Flux-Edmonds regularly saw his daughter and was looking after her at her mother's home when he killed her and then himself.
Mrs Flux-Edmonds, a financial service administrator, had been on her way to see a customer when she pulled her car over and read the text message.
She immediately called police and made her way to her home in East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
The inquest heard police officers found Flux-Edmonds had hung himself. They then discovered Keziah lying in bed with her arms around the family's two pet dogs.
Keziah was rushed to hospital and despite the efforts of officers and paramedics, she died later that day on June 1, 2016.
Flux-Edmonds was taking anti-depressants, and had taken part in three sessions in cognitive behavioural therapy before the tragedy.
The inquest heard during one of his sessions, Flux-Edmonds said he had nightmares about murdering his wife and daughter.
Reading from a therapist's report from May 11, coroner Caroline Sumeray said: "Patient has had nightmares about murdering his wife and daughter.
"He said this is something he would never actually do. He loved them enormously and had never hurt someone in the past."
Darren White, who carried out the therapy sessions, added: "As part of Darren's risk management, he thought it would be helpful to carry a picture of his daughter with him to remind him he had her in his life."
In a statement read out by the coroner today, Mrs Flux-Edmonds' said her "world was over".
She described how her estranged husband seemed 'different' that day he died.
She said: "He was quiet. He always asked me if I had thought about getting back with him but he didn't ask. I felt he wasn't happy.
"I was only going to be gone an hour and thought it would be fine. I asked if he felt all right and he said he felt unwell. I said I could take Keziah. He said he was feeling unwell but would be fine.
"Keziah and I had planned to go to Jolly Rogers play area when I got home from my round.
"[As I left] I saw him on the couch and she leaned on him, I saw them through the window."
It was the last she saw of her daughter. Around 25 minutes later she received the text from Flux-Edmonds but was unable to read it straight away as she was driving.
She pulled over and read the message, which was not read out in full during the inquest, after seeing the first line said "congratulations, you have finally ..."
The last line of the message said "you have taken everything and I will leave you with just memories".
She said she believed his long text message was prepared the night before or the morning of the incident as Flux-Edmonds, who was dsylexic, had used words he would not normally be able to spell.
She said she believed he used an aid that typed whatever he said into the phone.
Mrs Flux-Edmonds added that the text would have taken her husband around 20 minutes to write and if that were the case, he "would not have had time to do what he did".
She said: 'There was never a moment when Darren could not see Keziah. She loved Darren. She thought the sun shone out of him.
"She was my world. Darren has killed my baby and my boys [the dogs]. He was petrified I was going to go with someone else and did that to punish me.
"My world is over. I have nothing left, my whole life was Keziah. She was my only chance of having a child. I did everything to make her happy and I have nothing left."
PC Matthew Romsey, one of the first officers at the scene, said that he found Flux-Edmonds hanging as he entered the house.
He said: "Nicola [Nikki] was sobbing, asking where her little girl was, saying 'darling where are you? If you're hiding, come out'."
Describing finding Keziah, he said: "On a bed was a young small child. She was laying on her back and her head was to the left. She appeared to be in her pyjamas, on each side of her was a dog.
"The child's arms had been moved to look like she was cuddling each of the dogs.
"I was overcome with shock and upset. I requested PC Fletcher go downstairs to prevent Nicola coming in."
The inquest heard Keziah was cold and wet to touch.
PC Romsey's colleague, PC Lisa Fletcher, began rescue breaths while "urging the child to wake" and another officer, who had arrived at the house, performed chest compressions before paramedics arrived and the youngster was taken to St Mary's Hospital, Isle of Wight.
Coroner Sumeray concluded Keziah's death was an unlawful killing and that her father had killed himself.
She said: "Keziah died of drowning. She was forcibly submerged in the bathtub of her home address in East Cowes, Isle of Wight and my conclusion is unlawful killing.
Speaking directly to Mrs Flux-Edmonds, who clutched a framed photograph of her daughter throughout the hearing, and the rest of the family, she gave her deepest sympathy.
She added: "This is the most awful case. You have conducted yourself with great dignity and courage. You must not blame yourself for what happened, it was totally unforeseeable."