Two angels snatched away

A mum’s desperate search for her little girls ends in Christmas Day horror

- Punteha Van Terheyden

On Christmas morning in 2017, Sarah Cotton stared at the lights on the tree.

But for all the festive cheer in her home, there was something missing.

Her little girls Aubrey, 4, and Chloe, 6.

Her darling daughters were miles away at their father’s home.

Sarah and her ex, Andrew Berry, 45, had drawn battle lines during a bitter split but had finally agreed to stick to a court custody schedule.

So, on 21 December, Sarah had dropped her little girls off at their dad’s.

And now, on Christmas Day, as she set about cooking the festive meal with all the trimmings, she felt ready for the girls’ return at noon.

Only, as the clock struck 12, there was no knock on the door.

And as minutes turned to hours, Andrew and the girls still hadn’t arrived.

He’d not replied to her texts or voicemails, and his family hadn’t heard from him, either.

When no one seemed to be at Andrew’s home, and a search around local parks in Oak Bay, Vancouver, was fruitless, Sarah called the police. She told officers the girls were missing and showed the court order.

Sarah waited anxiously for news in the lobby of Andrew’s apartment building.

But more officers arrived, and she was soon escorted to the station and into the police chief ’s office.

The words that followed changed Sarah’s life forever.

‘They’re dead.’ Shocked, Sarah let out a wailing scream.

Stab wounds

Andrew had been found naked and injured in his bathtub, with stab wounds to his chest and throat.

He’d been rushed to the hospital, where doctors had saved his life.

But days later, he was charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

In time, Andrew Berry appeared in court but denied killing his daughters.