A mother murdered her two young daughters because they “got in the way” of her doing what she wanted, a court has heard.

Louise Porton is accused of deliberately obstructing the breathing of three-year-old Lexi Draper and 17-month-old Scarlett Vaughan, in two separate incidents.

Lexi was found dead in the early hours of 15 January, at Ms Porton’s home in Rugby, Warwickshire. Scarlett died 18 days later, on 1 February.

On both occasions the 23-year-old called paramedics, who arrived at the scene to find a dead child.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Oliver Saxby QC said the deaths had no natural cause.

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Ms Porton first called 111, an NHS helpline, on 2 January, to say that Lexi had suffered from a fit and stopped breathing, he told Birmingham Crown Court.

“Later that evening, she took Lexi to hospital,” he said. “Lexi was examined, she had recovered, no cause could be found for the fit and she was allowed home the next day.”

Ms Porton called 999 in the early hours of 4 January, after the three-year-old stopped breathing once again.

On this occasion paramedics attended her address where "they found Lexi in a deep state of unconsciousness,” Mr Saxby said.

“They revived her and took her to hospital where she was admitted for a more thorough examination," he added. "Lexi’s symptoms were consistent with some sort of deliberate airway obstruction – ie with someone having deliberately interfered with her ability to breathe. But doctors had no reason to suspect this at the time, they thought Lexi had a chest infection and she was given antibiotics before being discharged on 8 January.”

Louise Porton rang emergency services for a third time in the early hours of 15 January. This time paramedics arrived to find Lexi dead.

Weeks later, on 1 February, Ms Porton called 111, saying that she was in her car and taking Scarlett, her youngest child, to hospital.

The 23-year-old said her daughter was asleep and was asked by the operator to wake the 17-month-old.

“But she could not because Scarlett was dead,” Mr Saxby said. “Indeed, it was clear to the emergency services when they attended shortly afterwards that Scarlett had been dead for some time.”

Both children had symptoms consistent with deliberate airway obstruction and Scarlett had signs of recent bleeding in her neck tissue, suggestive of neck compression, the court heard.

Ms Porton is alleged to have searched online for how long it would take a corpse ”to go cold up to the shoulder”.

The jury heard that Ms Porton sent a sexual image of herself to a man in early January.

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She is also believed to have had an online discussion about meeting someone who asked her if he could pay her for sex.

Other messages sent by the 23-year-old, in the days before the children’s deaths, included some of a sexual nature, allegedly written while she was at hospital with Lexi.

The young mother’s former landlady, who had looked after the children while Ms Porton was busy, made a statement to police in which she claimed the mother did “whatever she could not to have them with her”.

“No doubt, she would have needed time to herself,” Mr Saxby said, “But, in the context of what was later to happen – in the context of two unexplained deaths consistent with deliberate airway obstruction – it is hard not to draw the conclusion that, for the defendant, at times, her two children got in the way of her doing what she wanted, when she wanted and with whom she wanted.”

Ms Porton denies killing her two children.

The trial continues.