Dead children's mother set for tests

A Midland mother believed to have smothered her two young children will undergo psychiatric tests today as she waits to learn whether a case will be brought against her.

Rebecca Smith, five, and her brother Daniel, aged 11 months, were found on Tuesday in the resort of Lloret de Mar, on Spain's Costa Brava.

Their father Martin, an alleged paedophile who was on the run, appeared in court in Cumbria yesterday.

Lianne Smith, aged 43, was arrested on suspicion of murder by Spanish police and is due to appear in court today or tomorrow.

Under the Spanish legal system, a suspect appears before a judge who decides whether there is sufficient evidence to bring a case.

Martin Smith, appeared before magistrates in Carlisle yesterday accused of child sex offences. Smith, 45, originally from North Shields, Tyneside, had been one of Britain's most wanted men until his arrest by Spanish police earlier this month.

Smith, who was extradited on Tuesday from Spain, faced 13 charges of child sex offences said to have been committed in the Cumbria area.

Lianne Smith was held on Tuesday after the children's bodies were found in Room 101 in the Hotel Miramar.

She phoned reception shortly before 2pm and emergency services were called but efforts to save the youngsters failed.

Hotel guest Andres Sonajalg, aged 49, from Tallinn, Estonia, had seen the children's mother at breakfast and that nothing about her seemed out of the ordinary. Police found no blood at the scene of the children's death nor any signs of violence.

The results of post mortem examinations, which are not expected to be made public, were due today and were also expected to reveal whether eitherchild was abused.

The Smiths were claimed by former neighbours to have lived at a house on Deykin Road, Lichfield, for no more than six months in the latter part of 2007.

Neighbours recalled how the couple were reluctant to talk to those living in the neighbourhood.

An elderly woman, who declined to give her name, said: "You didn't hardly see them at all - we didn't even know they had gone when they left."

One neighbour, who knew the pair but did not wish to be named, said: "We were on holiday when they moved in, my mother was looking after the house and she spoke to them briefly.

"My mum found her to be very quiet, she talked to her about finding a play group for her little girl.

"The woman seemed to dress in an old fashioned way. Her husband was anti-social and didn't speak at all.

"She didn't speak very much and never wanted to get in on any conversation."

Another neighbour, who also did not wish to be named, said: " I just remember one day them leaving completely out of the blue.

"All of their stuff was left in the garage and I just remember detectives hanging around and that was the last we heard of them.

"It's all very sad."

A Staffordshire Police spokesperson confirmed that Lianne and Rebecca, had been treated as missing persons for the last three years.

The spokesperson said: "We are very saddened to hear of the tragic deaths of the two children.

"Staffordshire Police had been treating Lianne and Rebecca Smith as missing people since December 2007.

"Shortly before this time they had moved to Lichfield from Cumbria, but within a short period they had moved again and their whereabouts were unknown.

"It is believed that they were with Martin Smith, who was under investigation at that time by Cumbria Police for serious sexual offences.

"Our officers have worked closely with Staffordshire Social Services, Cumbria Police and, once it was established that the family were believed to be abroad, Interpol and other law enforcement agencies, to trace the family.

"We are continuing to offer our full support to the investigation in Spain and Cumbria Police."