Saju Chelavalel, 52, admitted to the triple murder of his wife and children
A man who admitted murdering his wife and their two children has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 40 years.
Anju Asok, 35, Jeeva Saju, six, and Janvi Saju, four, were found with serious injuries at Saju Chelavalel’s home in Kettering in Northamptonshire on 15 December 2022.
Chelavalel, 52, of Petherton Court, pleaded guilty in April.
Ms Asok, a nurse, died at the scene and the children died later in hospital.
Post-mortem examinations found all three victims died from asphyxiation, Northamptonshire Police said.
Chelavalel, originally from Kerala in India, claimed he lost control while drunk in the belief that his wife was having an affair, killing her at around 22:00 GMT on 14 December at their ground-floor flat in Petherton Court, Kettering.
Northampton Crown Court heard how Chelavalel had more than four hours “to reflect on whether to kill his children” before using a dressing gown cord to strangle them in the early hours of the following morning.
Sentencing him, Judge Mr Justice Pepperall said: “While you were squeezing the life out of your wife, your young children were screaming for their mummy.
“I cannot be sure if they were eyewitnesses but it is clear that they heard what was going on and knew that she was being hurt by you.”
Image source, PA Media
Anju Asok and her two daughters died from asphyxiation on 15 December
Prosecutor Mr Newton-Price KC said there was no evidence whatsoever to support the claim that Anju had been unfaithful.
However an examination of her husband’s phone showed that he had been searching dating websites for other women while she was at work.
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