London - A South African woman who has been charged with murdering three of her four children is expected to appear in the Wimbledon Magistrates Court today.

Tania Clarence's three children were found dead in their home in New Malden, southwest of London on Tuesday night. The children have been identified as three-year-old twins Ben and Max and Olivia Clarence, aged four.

Clarence was treated in hospital for minor injuries and later discharged before being arrested.

Yesterday, Scotland Yard said post-mortem examinations on the children were still underway.

Their father, Gary Clarence, a director at City bank Investec, was on holiday in South Africa with members of his family, including the couple's eight-year-old daughter, when he was told about the deaths of his children. In a statement he said it was an "extreme tragedy" with devastating consequences.

Tania Clarence, a graphic designer, had reportedly given up her job to care full-time for the three children, who had the life-limiting genetic disorder Spinal Muscular Atrophy.