Naman Shrestha
Discovery+’s ‘Deadliest Mums & Dads: A Father’s Night of Revenge’ profiles the shocking and gruesome double murder case of Chrissie Chambers and her 2-year-old daughter in their residence. Fortunately, a young girl who was in the house that fateful night managed to escape right before the killing. The story sent shockwaves to the entire community while the investigators left no stone unturned during the investigation, leading them right to the perpetrator/s responsible. The episode also includes interviews with Chrissie’s surviving children who recount their experiences and memories.
Chrissie Chambers and Shania Were Found Dead in Their Residence
Hailing from Barking in Essex, Christine “Chrissie” Chambers was born to Ken and Jean Chambers in 1973. Growing up, she used to appear in various local beauty contests quite regularly. By the age of 19, she had met Ian Flitt, with whom she started a romantic relationship. Soon, they became parents to two children — Chelsea Chambers and Guy Flitt. Unfortunately, they parted ways amicably in 2003 and shared the custody of their kids. Two years later, in July 2005, she met and started dating a nightclub bouncer named David Oakes, who had already fathered two children from his previous relationships.
As Chrissie got close to him, she and David decided to take the next step in their relationship and moved in together. Residing in a property on Bartram Avenue in Braintree, the couple became pregnant in February 2008. On October 27, 2008, Shania was welcomed into the world by Chrissie and David. All seemed to be going well for the couple and the child until something dreary took place inside the Braintree residence on June 6, 2011. In the early hours, 38-year-old Chrissie and her two-year-old daughter Shania were found dead.
The police sent the bodies for further examinations and learned that a bullet wound to the abdomen was the “major contributing factor” in the death of Chrissie. It was also reported that she suffered several other injuries prior to succumbing to the gunshot wound. On the other hand, a single gunshot wound was the cause of death for Shania. After taping the crime scene, the authorities collected all pieces of evidence they could find inside the house while the neighbors claimed that they heard screams and banging before the sound of the shootings.
Custody Battle Led to Chrissie Chambers and Shania’s Murder
Next, the investigators held interviews with the possible witnesses in the neighborhood, Chrissie’s friends, and her family members, in order to paint a clearer picture of the life of the victim and the circumstances prior to the day of her demise. They learned that Chrissie’s partner David Oakes was a violent and controlling figure in her life and he used to have sudden moments of outbursts every now and then. The situation had gotten so out of hand that in April 2011, she decided to end their 6-year relationship, which was not taken well by him. Things seemingly got worse after their split as they got into a custody battle. Several weeks before the murder, Chrissie had reportedly informed the police about her getting pestered and harassed by him.
Moreover, just three days before the fateful day, David had threatened Chrissie by texting her, “I won’t let anyone else have her (Shania). I won’t let anybody else be called daddy by my daughter.” On the night of June 5, 2011, David, under the influence, arrived at Chrissie’s residence armed with a shotgun, knives, and other tools with the intention of killing her former partner, their toddler Shania, and his stepdaughter Chelsea. Fortunately, Chelsea found the opportunity to escape the house and ran straight to her biological father’s house. After informing him and his brother Guy about the entire situation, they called 911.
However, it was too late as David shot Chrissie thrice, including once in the abdomen, and shot Shania at point-blank range in the early hours of June 6, 2011. After that, he reportedly turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger, ending up with some self-inflicted gunshot wounds to his face. As soon as the police found him, he was taken to the hospital. Upon his recovery, he was charged with the double murder of his wife and daughter, and arrested. Chrissie’s former partner Ian Flitt told BBC, “She called them so many times asking ‘When are you going to do something, when are you going to do something?'” He revealed that the police could have arrested David several weeks before, stating, “The police didn’t seem to take her seriously and we feel they could have done more.”
David Oakes Died While Serving His Sentence in Durham
During the trial of David Oakes in 2012, he pleaded not guilty, claiming that he got into a struggle for the gun with Chrissie, which resulted in her and the toddler getting shot. He also alleged that Shania was fatally shot from the bedroom of the house. Despite his claims of innocence, he received a life imprisonment sentence for the double murder. However, less than a year later, he was admitted to a hospital due to some health complications while serving his sentence at HMP Frankland in Durham. Sooner rather than later, David died in the early morning hours of February 11, 2013, in the hospital, presumably of cancer. Talking about his death with BBC, Ian Flitt said that he had mixed emotions, stating, “He was a monster. But I remember him being my best mate as well.”
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