Appearing at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday, a father has pleaded guilty to the murders of his wife and their two young children, but told a court ‘I don’t know what happened’.
Saju Chelavalel, 52, admitted the murders of NHS nurse Anju Ashok and their children, six-year-old Jeeva Saju and Janvi Saju, aged four, on Wednesday at Northampton Crown Court.
Forensic post-mortem examinations at Leicester Royal Infirmary found they had died as a result of asphyxiation last December.
Police were called to a flat in Petherton Court, Kettering at about 11.15am on December 15, 2022, and found Ms Asok, an NHS nurse, and her children with serious injuries.
Anju was pronounced dead at the scene, while the children were taken to Kettering General Hospital where they later died.
A forensic post-mortem concluded that all three died of asphyxiation, but a coroner’s inquest opened in January heard that the medical cause of death for the children had been listed as strangulation, while Ms Ashok died of asphyxia.
Chelavalel admitted the offences during a 12-minute hearing at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday.
Assisted by an interpreter in the dock, Chelavalel answered ‘guilty’ to two of the counts he faced, but in relation to the charge of murdering Jeeva he replied: ‘I don’t know what happened to the children, but I plead guilty.’
Adjourning the case until 3 July, Judge David Herbert KC said: ‘There can only be one sentence in law, namely a life sentence, but the judge dealing with your case on that day will have to set the appropriate minimum term.’
Northants Police arrested Chelavalel after officers were called to his address in Kettering on 15 December and found Ms Ashok, 35, Jeeva and Janvi with serious injuries. All three died a short time later.
Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Simon Barnes, said: ‘This was an absolutely tragic case and there are no words to articulate the devastation Saju Chelavalel caused when he chose to end the lives of Anju, Jeeva and Janvi.
