Bengaluru Triple Murder Debt Live In Relationship Probe

Investigators probing the murder of a Bengaluru couple and their younger daughter are examining whether mounting debt and tensions over their elder daughter’s live-in relationship triggered the killings, even as six police teams search for the absconding suspects.

The elder daughter, Shwetha, and her partner, Kenneth, have been missing since the bodies of her parents, Somasundar and Muthulakshmi, and her younger sister, Supriya, were discovered inside an apartment at Sai Green Apartments in the Seegehalli area Monday.

As the investigation gathers pace, the police are looking into Shwetha’s financial liabilities.

Sources said she had allegedly borrowed nearly Rs 30 lakh through a bank loan and had fallen behind on repayments. Recovery notices linked to the loan were reportedly delivered to her family’s residence in Marathahalli.

Investigators are also examining records relating to other unpaid borrowings.

The police said the couple fled shortly after the killings and are tracking their movements using technical evidence and surveillance.

According to investigators, Shwetha and Kenneth met while studying engineering and later found jobs in the software sector. They reportedly lived together in a rented apartment in the same residential complex for nearly 2 months while working remotely.

Kenneth’s family members told investigators he had informed them he was working in Hyderabad and that they were unaware that he had been living in Bengaluru.

The police suspect tensions within the family may have escalated in the days leading up to the murders.

Preliminary findings suggest that Muthulakshmi visited the apartment Sunday after her daughter invited her. During the visit, an argument is believed to have broken out over Shwetha’s relationship with Kenneth.

They also suspect that Muthulakshmi was attacked first. Somasundar and Supriya were then allegedly called to the apartment separately before being killed. The police are probing whether the victims were lured to the flat as part of a planned sequence of events.

Post-mortem examinations show all three victims suffered multiple stab injuries, indicating a sustained assault.

Meanwhile, the police have expanded the search beyond Karnataka and are pursuing leads in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.