A man accused of murdering two of his children denied faking a suicide note from his third alleged victim, a court has heard.

Jordan Monaghan, 30, is said to have been the real author of the typewritten letter from his partner, Evie Adams, 23, who he is accused of killing with an overdose of prescription drugs he bought illegally.

He faked the letter and then staged its “discovery” when it fell out of a picture frame, as he removed the couple’s favourite photo of themselves to place in her coffin, Preston Crown Court heard.

The digger driver, of Belgrave Close, Blackburn, is accused of smothering two of his own children, 24-day-old daughter Ruby on New Year’s Day 2013, and 21-month-old son Logan eight months later, while living with the children’s mother, Laura Gray, 28.

He is also accused of murdering his new partner, Miss Adams, six years later, on October 24 2019, by giving her a cocktail of five prescription drugs, including tramadol and diazepam.

Monaghan denies giving her any prescription drugs.

Three weeks after her death, Miss Adams’ friend, Kimberley Edwards, visited Monaghan to discuss funeral arrangements, the court heard.

He wanted to put their favourite photo of them together in her coffin and, as he took it out of a frame, two folded letters fell out of the back.

One was purportedly a letter from Miss Adams to her child from “Mummy”. The second was typewritten, dated two days before her death, an apparent suicide note.

Duncan Smith QC, prosecuting, suggested Miss Adams “lived for” her young child but it was “odd” that she made no mention of her in the alleged suicide note.

There was however mention of Logan and Ruby, Monaghan’s children.

He said Miss Adams’ signature on the letter was a “cut and paste” and Monaghan then “staged” it being found, with his fingerprints discovered on the letter but not those of Miss Adams.

And an expert forensic linguist concluded that the style of writing was “not compatible” with Miss Adams’ writing but “consistent” with Monaghan’s in terms of the punctuation, phrases used and composition of thoughts.

Mr Smith put it to the defendant: “A letter, designed by you to give the idea, the false idea that Evie Adams had taken her own life.

“The reality was you had murdered her.”

Monaghan replied: “No.”

The prosecution allege Monaghan killed the children when his then partner, Miss Gray, told him the relationship was over, and killed Miss Adams when she also threatened to dump him.

The defendant, denies three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of cruelty to a third child, who cannot be identified, all between January 1 2013 and October 24 2019.

The trial was adjourned until Friday morning.