Indian American family found dead in California home
Indian American couple Anand Sujith Henry and Alice Benziger, and their 4-year-old twin boys were found dead inside a home in San Mateo, and police are investigating the case as a murder-suicide.
Police are investigating the case of an Indian American couple and their 4-year-old twin boys found dead inside a home in San Mateo, about 20 miles south of San Francisco, as a murder-suicide.
The identities of the four people found Monday morning have yet to be officially released. However, friends cited by NBC Bay Area identified the couple as Anand Sujith Henry, 42, and Alice Benziger, 40, originally from Kerala.
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According to court records, cited by the local channel, the husband filed for divorce in December 2016 but apparently did not go through with it.
Police said they have been called to the home a few times in the past but did not disclose the nature of those calls. There was no note left at the scene, and at this point police do not have a motive.
Officers responded at about 9:15 a.m. Monday to the home on the 4100 block of Alameda de las Pulgas to conduct a welfare check, police said.
After not receiving a response when they arrived at the home, officers searched the perimeter and didn’t see any signs of forced entry, police said. They eventually found an unlocked window, went inside and found the four people dead.
The boys were found inside a bedroom, police said. Their cause of death is still being investigated.
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NBC Bay Area cited sources with direct knowledge of the investigation as saing police believe the boys were smothered, strangled or given a lethal overdose because there was no sign of trauma on their bodies.
The man and woman were found inside a bathroom, according to police. They both had gunshot wounds. A 9-millimeter pistol and a loaded magazine were found in the bathroom, police said.
The deaths appear to be an isolated incident and there is no danger to the public, police said.
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“We are confident the person responsible was located within the home,” police said in a statement.
Neighbors cited by the channel said the couple had lived in the home for more than four years and they were friendly. They would often walk together in the neighborhood and seemed like a happy family.
“For sure loving,” Phyllis Halili said. “Before the babies were born, we would see the husband and the wife just taking a walk while she was pregnant and then later on when the babies were, just taking them out for a walk.”
“As a parent, of course, it makes you think what happened,” Ron Mifsud said. “There’s usually some tragic circumstances that goes along with situations like this. It makes you wonder. Quiet community, family of four, what could’ve gone wrong there? It’s very disturbing.”
The Indian-American couple were reportedly IT professionals. Anand worked as a software engineer, while Alice served as a senior analyst, who moved to San Mateo County two years ago.
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Second such case of murder-suicide in an Indian American family in recent months has sent shockwaves in the community.
The bodies of Tej Pratap Singh, 43, and his wife Sonal Parihar, 42, were found alongside their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter in their Plainsboro, New Jersey home last October.
