A 29-year-old man has appeared in court charged with murdering his two children, one adult and the attempted murder of another child.

Jordan Monaghan, of Belgrave Close, Blackburn, appeared in front of Preston Magistrates on Tuesday morning, but did not enter any pleas.

Monaghan has been charged with the murder of partner Evie Adams, two children, Logan and Ruby Monaghan, and two charges of attempted murder on a third child, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The first charge relates to the death of three-week-old Ruby Monaghan on January 1 2013, with the second charge relating to the death of 21-month-old Logan Monaghan just eight months later, on August 17 2013.

In addition, he faces two counts of attempting to murder a third child on September 27 and October 2, 2016, along with two offences of child cruelty in relation to that same child and on those dates. 

The 29-year-old was also charged with murdering Miss Adams, on October 24, 2019. She was not the mother of the children.

All of the alleged offences were committed at addresses in Blackburn.

The charges follow a complex and lengthy enquiry by Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) and come after consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Monaghan has been remanded into custody to appear at Preston Crown Court on Thursday January 21, where it is expected he will enter not-guilty pleas and a date will be set for him to stand trial.