التصنيف: estaql

A man who left a note to his estranged wife stating “if I can’t have them, neither can you”, has admitted killing their three children.

Jason Karels pleaded “guilty but mentally ill” on Friday to three counts of first-degree murder.

The 36-year-old will be jailed for life without parole, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said.

Karels admitted to killing five year-old Bryant Karels, Cassidy Karels, who was three, and Gideon Karels, aged two, by drowning them, in June last year.

When police arrived at the family home to check on the children’s welfare, they found the note for addressed to his wife, Debbie Karels, prosecutors said.

Karels, of Round Lake Beach, Illinois, was arrested after crashing his car into a bridge on Interstate 80, in the town of Joliet, 73 miles (118km) away, while trying to escape police.

He was injured in the crash and spent a short time in hospital.

Karels told first responders he was responsible for his children’s deaths and had tried to take his own life before fleeing the home, police said.

Officers found his blood in the house from his attempts to hurt himself.

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Police said at the time of the deaths that the parents shared custody of the children but did not live together.

Mr Rinehart said in a statement: “This case has devastated the Round Lake Beach community and beyond. We hope that today’s resolution provides some measure of closure, and we will continue to provide support to the family.”

Several members of the family were present in court for the hearing. An online fundraising campaign raised more than $107,000 (£84,000) for Ms Karels.

Karels will be sentenced in February.

A Royal Navy warship has shot down an attack drone suspected of targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea.

The HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed the drone overnight, the first time the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target in anger since the 1991 Gulf War.

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Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said attacks on commercial ships in the global trade artery by Yemen‘s Houthi rebels “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security”.

Global shipping has become a target during the war between Israel and Hamas, which like the Houthi, is backed by Iran.

The group has vowed to target vessels which it believes are heading to and from Israel and HMS Diamond was sent to the region two weeks ago as a deterrent.

“The UK remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade,” Mr Shapps said in a statement.

The Houthis have launched a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, as well as launching drones and missiles targeting Israel.

Earlier this month, three commercial ships were struck by ballistic missiles and a US warship shot down a further three drones.

On Friday Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, told all its vessels planning to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea to “pause their journey until further notice” after a missile attack on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship.

Control of Yemen is split between the Iran-backed rebels and Saudi-backed government forces. The country has been locked in a devastating civil war in recent years, with reports a child dies every 10 minutes.