Grief-stricken Blackburn 'triple killer' was 'putting it on' murder trial hears

A man accused of three murders was "putting it on" after being told his girlfriend was dead, a court heard.

And Jordan Monaghan later faked a suicide note from his partner Evie Adams, discovered apparently by chance falling out of a picture frame, as he removed the couple's favourite photo of themselves to place in her coffin, Preston Crown Court heard.

The 30-year-old digger driver is accused of smothering two of his own children, Ruby, aged 24 days, on New Year's Day 2013, and his son, Logan, aged 21 months, eight months later, while living with the children's mother, Laura Gray, 28.

He is also accused of murdering his new partner Evie Adams, 23, six years later.

Monaghan is alleged to have murdered her with an overdose, over a number of days, using tramadol and diazepam, which he had bought himself on the black market.

At 8.15pm on October 24, 2019, an ambulance was called to Hazel Close in Blackburn, where Monaghan was living with Miss Adams.

The mother-of-one was found lying on her back on the bedroom floor, her heart stopped.

Despite emergency resuscitation attempts by paramedics she was declared dead at 8.50pm.

Senior paramedic John Tetlow was present when police were called, and when officers told the defendant his partner was dead Monaghan was "overcome with grief".

Duncan Smith QC, prosecuting, told the jury: "Mr Tetlow saw Mr Monaghan in an emotional state but considered Mr Monaghan was putting it on in respect of his upset when the police got there."

Monaghan told Miss Adams' friends and relatives she had been suicidal, including sending a text message, "I have taken some drugs", earlier that day, to which he did not reply.

But Mr Smith suggested he had sent the text himself using her phone.

A post-mortem examination showed Miss Adams died from tramadol and diazepam toxicity, drugs never prescribed to her but sought and obtained by Monaghan from others and given to her "covertly without her agreement or knowledge" the jury heard.

Three weeks after her death Miss Adams' friend, Kimberley Edwards, visited Monaghan to discuss funeral arrangements.

He wanted to put their favourite photo of them together in her coffin and as he took it out of a photo frame, two folded letters fell out of the back.

One was purportedly a letter from Miss Adams to her child from "Mummy".

The second was typewritten, dated two days before her death, an apparent suicide note.

Mr Smith said a number of pieces of evidence suggested the suicide note had in fact been written by the defendant, not Miss Adams.

His fingerprints were found on the letter but not those of Miss Adams.

The letter was examined by an expert forensic linguist who found the writing was "not consistent" with it being written by Miss Adams, but was "consistent, highly distinctive" with the writing of Monaghan, suggesting he was the real author.

Monaghan, of Belgrave Close, Blackburn, denies three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of cruelty to a third child, who cannot be identified, all between January 1, 2013 and October 24, 2019.

The trial continues.