Kochi/Vilappilsala: Three children, dressed in new clothes and wearing cooling glasses, lay on a bed as if asleep… one of them, a two-year-old, was dressed in a red outfit. In the adjacent room, a 14-year-old boy lay on the floor, on a spread-out shawl, dressed in a sherwani. The sight of 5 members of a family lying dead in a rented house at Vaduthala left everyone deeply shaken. 

The deceased are Sreekumari (59), wife of Surendran Nair from Kanakavihar, Karode in Vilappilsala, Thiruvananthapuram; her daughter Aswathi S Nair (36); and Aswathi’s children—Karnivan (14), Keerthivan (5), and Akshitha (2). The women were found hanging, while the younger children were lying on the bed and the eldest boy on the floor.

It is reported that Aswathi had rented the ground floor of the house in Vaduthala in February along with her children and mother. The house owner, who had met Aswathi at a private hospital in Kochi, had given them the house as it had been lying vacant. The agreement was for two months, and the rent had been paid. They were supposed to vacate by March 20. Despite living there for two months, the family had little interaction with neighbours, who only noticed them coming and going in a taxi.

The house owner’s elder brother had met the family on Thursday, and they had reportedly said they would vacate the next day. Due to painting work in a nearby house, a car had been moved to the house where the tragedy occurred. The neighbouring family had also planned to temporarily shift there once the house was vacated.

The incident came to light on Saturday morning when the younger son of the house owner’s elder brother came to check the house. The family had rented the house in Vaduthala two months ago for the treatment of Karnivan at a private hospital in Kochi. The house owner is based in Dubai. After noticing no activity in the house for two days, the owner’s relative visited on Saturday morning and found the house locked from inside with the air conditioner running. Using a spare key to enter, he found the two women hanging in a room and alerted the ward councillor. A subsequent search revealed the children also dead. Police suspect that the children may have been poisoned before the mother and grandmother died by suicide.

It is suspected that the death of Aswathi’s husband and subsequent issues had deeply affected the family. Medicines and remnants of a drink given to the children were also found in the house.

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Police at the crime scene

Strangers to even locals in Vilappilsala

The family remained largely unknown to locals in Vilappilsala. Aswathi, from Kanakavihar in Karode, Vilappilsala, had minimum contact with neighbours. Locals had only occasionally seen the children when they return home. 

Aswathi had purchased a house in Vilappilsala about 15 years ago, where her mother Sreekumari had been living. Aswathi and her children would visit occasionally. The house, which had a sheet roof, was rented out about a year ago.

Aswathi had been living with her children at her husband Akshat’s house in Poovachal. Aswathi’s husband, Akshat, who was suffering from a liver disease, had died by suicide seven months ago. It is reported that marital issues had strained their relationship. After his death, disputes arose between Aswathi and her mother-in-law Usha over property matters. Usha had filed a police complaint seeking possession of three vehicles, including Akshat’s car.

A suicide note, suspected to have been written by Aswathi, also mentions family issues. Police believe that accusations linking her to her husband’s death and the emotional strain that followed may have driven her to take the extreme step.

Aswathi’s father, Surendran Nair from Kalliyoor, lives separately from the family. Her brother Arunlal resides in Kilimanoor. Sreekumari was a native of Kalady.

After completing inquest procedures, the bodies were shifted to Kalamassery Medical College and Ernakulam General Hospital. They will be handed over to relatives after postmortem. Aswathi’s relatives have reached Kochi, and their statements have been recorded by the police.