A migrant mother-of-two who felt isolated in her new Australian home drove to a remote area and set herself and her two daughters on fire, after telling her husband she was taking the girls to McDonald’s.

James Swan Palakamannil has given the Coroners Court of Victoria a harrowing account of what his life has been like since his wife Jasmine Thomas and daughters Carolyn and Evlyn died in a Melbourne car fire two years ago.

“To see the coffin go down with all of your favourite people in it changes your life,” he told the court on Tuesday, April 23, The Age reported.

“I will never be the same again. Never get to touch, feel or see them again. They will remain pictures on a screen.

“On March 24 (2022), the sky became three stars richer.”

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Mr Palakamannil remembers how three-year-old Carolyn would drag a chair to reach the front door handle and open it as he arrived home from work every day. She would always be wearing her favourite colour, pink.

Her older sister, six-year-old Evlyn, “was the boss of the house”.

“She wore the pants,” Mr Palakamannil told the court.

“I will never be the same again” Husband speaks after his wife drove to remote location and set herself and two daughters on fire

Their mother Jasmine Thomas suffered from postnatal depression and then became paranoid during the Covid pandemic.

On the night of March 24, 2022, Mr Palakamannil had returned to their Lyndhurst home in Melbourne’s south-east to find their daughters playing on a mobile phone and his wife laying in bed. A short time later, Ms Thomas told him she was taking the girls to McDonald’s.

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However, CCTV footage showed the mother first went to a service station in nearby suburb Cranbourne West where she bought and filled a jerry can. Ms Thomas then drove herself and her daughters to a McDonald’s car park where they sat until about 7.30pm.

Less than 10 minutes later, she drove to a secluded spot on the Western Port Highway, covered her car in fuel and set it alight with herself and two daughters inside.

Emergency services rushed to the scene after a passer-by reported the fire, which was brought under control in 15 minutes. Ms Thomas, Evlyn and Carolyn all died in the horrific blaze.

“I will never be the same again” Husband speaks after his wife drove to remote location and set herself and two daughters on fire.

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“Suddenly, there is no one waiting for me at the door,” Mr Palakamannil told the court through tears.

“[I’m now] living in an empty and silent house.” Mr Palakamannil and Ms Thomas had married in India in 2012 after meeting on an arranged marriage website.

The couple, who were both born in Kuwait, moved to Australia and were granted permanent residency in 2015. Mr Palakamannil recalled how the Gulf War inspired him to teach Evlyn to be a good person.

“I watched her take her first steps, say her first words. I’d give her pep talks before bedtime … about famine and the war and how kids go hungry, about global warming and climate change to put a desire in her heart to … be a force for change,” he said.

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Ms Thomas worked in Melbourne hospitals as a nurse but unexpectedly resigned from Mulgrave Private Hospital in 2021.

However, she stayed as a casual employee at Dandenong Hospital. During this time she told her family she was having marriage problems.

Coroner John Cain noted Ms Thomas had contacted a number of professional services, including police, and experienced postnatal depression. He found those services had no opportunity to prevent her murder-suicide.

“Despite child protection and Victoria Police holding concerns about her mental health, as she was not assessed as acutely unwell and did not wish to engage in services, she did not receive any formal assistance or diagnosis,” Cain said.

Instead, the court heard how Ms Thomas was socially isolated with her problems often disregarded by her extended family.

“My late wife, Jasmine, tried her best. I wish she had … sought help. She struggled to connect and engage with people and make friends. When she couldn’t any more … in the process she took out my most prized possessions,” Mr Palakamannil said.

A pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend who had no idea what was about to unfold and the video has now gone viral.

Konrad Hanc, who is the captain of Polish Airlines’ Embrarer 195, was piloting the flight to Krakow when he staged an impressive proposal.

Footage shows Captain Hanc coming out of the cockpit to introduce himself to passengers on the PA system. He then began tearing up as he spoke of his love, before going down on one knee and popping the question.

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“On today’s flight there is a very special person and I hope that she doesn’t expect anything,” he said.

“Ladies and gentlemen, about one and a half years ago in this job I met the most wonderful person that completely changed my life.

“You are most precious to me. You are my greatest dream come true. This is why I have to ask you a favour, honey.”

“Will you marry me?” he asked while getting down on one knee. His eyes swelled with tears as he waited patiently for his girlfriend’s answer, holding a bunch of flowers handed to him by a flight attendant.

Paula could be seen running down the aisle of the plane before leaping into the arms of her future husband.

“I don’t know if this is the right hand for this,” she laughed as she presented her hand for the ring.

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Passengers watched on in anticipation for her answer with one yelling, “Did she say yes?” to which the beaming captain responded: “She said yes!”

Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers (video)

Hanc said the pair met on a flight to Krakow, a city in southern Poland near the border of the Czech Republic.

“This is why I want to propose on today’s flight to Krakow,” he said before popping the big question.

The video has gone viral with viewers leaving positive comments.

Watch the video below.

A 17-year-old Nigerian boy, Oluwafemi Ositade, has secured full scholarships to multiple Ivy League universities in the United States, Canada and Qatar.

The teenager, a member of the Class of 2023 of The Ambassadors College, Ota, won scholarships over $3.5 million.

Ositade’s astounding success stems from his exceptional performance in the SAT where he achieved a perfect score in Maths (800/800) and a near-perfect score of 760 out of 800 in reading and writing and his CGPA of 4.04/4.0 from college.

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Nigerian boy Femi Ositade wins $3.5 million worth of scholarships from Harvard and 13 foreign universities

Ositade received 14 scholarships from renowned institutions nine of which are full ride scholarships (covering tuition, accommodation, allowance and all other student’s expenses).

The universities that have given scholarship offers to Ositade are Harvard University, Brown University, Duke University, University of Toronto Lester B Pearson Scholarship, Wesleyan University, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, University of Miami, Howard University, Stetson University, Fisk University, University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus, University of Toronto St. George Campus, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus and Drexel University.

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In the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), he got a score of 358, and was ranked as the second best in Nigeria for the year 2023.

Also, in the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Ositade got eight A’s and one B2.

He wants to pursue a degree in Computational Physics, due to his passion for Quantum Computing and Mathematics.