Isle of Wight: Father drowned daughter and hanged himself after struggling to cope with split from wife

A father drowned his six-year-old daughter before killing the family dogs and then hanging himself, a post-mortem examination revealed today. On June 1, police were called to a house in Cromwell Avenue, East Cowes at 10.10 BST where they found the body of the man who has been identified as Darren Flux-Edmonds .

His daughter Keziah Flux-Edmonds was found unconscious, lying next to his body, by her mother Nikki, 48, after she returned home from work on Wednesday.

The child was taken to St Mary's Hospital in nearby Newport where she died a short time later. Darren, 44, was said to be struggling to cope with the breakdown of his marriage. Prior to carrying out the killings he reportedly sent a chilling text to his estranged wife saying he would "leave her something to remember him by."

While the cause of death of the six-year-old has not been confirmed, it is thought she was drowned in the bath. A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: "The post mortem examination of Darren Flux-Edmonds, 44, found death was by ligature suspension. His death is not being treated as suspicious by detectives.

"The result of the post mortem examination of his six-year-old daughter Keziah Flux-Edmonds was undetermined and further tests will be carried out. Detectives are treating her death as murder and are continuing with their investigations on behalf of the coroner."

Last night hundreds of mourners held a vigil in the Isle of Wight town for 'the little Princess' who 'wanted to be Elsa from Frozen when she grew up'. Flowers, cards and Disney toys were left outside the home as friends, family and neighbours gathered to pay their respects in an emotional service.

Isle of Wight councillor Julia Baker-Smith laid flowers outside the family home. She told Mail Online: 'I came here to pay my respects on behalf of my ward. As a parent myself it's absolutely devastating news. My heart sunk when I heard a young girl had died".

Flux-Edmonds and his wife Nikki, separated earlier this year. The out-of-work father revealed he was struggling to cope after the split writing on Facebook: "Lord, my heart hurts right now. I have no idea what I need, but you do. Please help". "At some point, you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life," he wrote in another post.

Friend Terry Nutman, 64, said the couple were living apart and that the six-year-old had remained in the family home with her mother. "They had split up, I'm not sure when or why but it wasn't too long ago. He was living somewhere else and she was there with Keziah.

"I don't know what happened inside the house, I think she came back from work and found it all. I can't understand it and I just don't know what was going through his head at the time. The mum Nikki was always busy. I remember her running up and down the road with her phone. I hadn't seen Darren in months."

Police are continuing to investigate the tragedy.