Kerala family’s death in US: What we know about the couple, the case so far
No suicide note was reportedly found in the house but it has now emerged that the police had visited the family on several occasions, responding to calls
The deaths of the four-member family from Kerala’s Kollam in the US’s California are a possible case of murder-suicide, the San Mateo police have said.
Cause of deaths
According to a statement released by the San Mateo Police Department, Anand Henry (42) and his wife Alice Priyanka (40) were found dead inside a bathroom, with gunshot wounds. News reports suggested that Anand may have shot Alice dead before killing himself.
“The two children were found deceased inside a bedroom. Their cause of death is still under investigation,” the San Mateo Police Department statement says. Initially, they were suspected to have died of a gas leak though reports suggest they may have been poisoned.
Anand, Alice, and their 4-year-old twins Noha and Naithan were found dead in their $2.1-million mansion when the police went for a welfare check on Tuesday (February 13) morning.
Who were Anand and Alice?
Anand, a software engineer by profession, was the son of a former principal of Kollam Fathima Mata National College, Henry Gorge. He had worked as a software engineering manager at Meta and Google before co-founding Logits, an artificial intelligence company, last year, says his LinkedIn profile.
According to The New Indian Express, both Anand and Alice studied at TKM College of Engineering in Kollam. However, Anand’s LinkedIn profile mentions he went to Carnegie Mellon University and Singapore Management University. Alice was also an IT professional and reportedly worked as a senior analyst.
What lies beneath?
Anand and Alice had reportedly been living in the US for nine years. They had reportedly moved several times across San Francisco before settling in their $2.1-million home in California’s San Mateo County two years ago. Earlier, they lived in New Jersey.
An On Manorama report suggests that Alice’s mother Juliet had been visiting the family in California and had taken the flight back home only on February 11, the day before the family was found dead.
Neighbours and colleagues have also been quoted as describing the couple as friendly, hardworking, and devoted parents. However, their marital history was not totally rosy. It has now emerged that Anand had filed for divorce in December 2016, but for some reason did not go all the way.
No suicide note
No suicide note was reportedly found in the house but it has now emerged that the police had visited the family on several occasions, responding to calls. However, they have not revealed the nature of those calls.
On Tuesday, too, officers went to the house “on the report of a welfare check”. But the police have not revealed who requested the welfare check and for what reason.
