Woman techie who murdered parents and sister arrested from Puducherry, partner still on the run

BENGALURU: Techie M Shwetha (24), an accused in the triple murder of her parents and younger sister, was arrested from Puducherry on Wednesday. Another accused Kenneth, who is her live-in partner, has still not been traced.

The police are looking for Kenneth in Velanganni, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchirappalli areas. As Kenneth’s native place is Velanganni, he is suspected to have taken help from friends to escape. The killer duo travelled on their own two-wheeler via Tiruvannamalai route. However, Kenneth escaped after dropping Shwetha midway.

After her arrest, Shwetha told the police, “My mother controlled my life, she didn’t give me freedom to do anything. Whatever I did, my mother never let me be independent. They ruined my life, that’s why I killed my mother. She had taken away my freedom in life and because of her, I left home and lived like an orphan despite having everyone. Whatever I did was wrong.. wherever I went was wrong. Sitting at home was wrong, standing was wrong, sleeping was wrong..Everything was wrong, and they ruined the peace of my life. That’s why I killed them”, the accused said.

Initial information is that she alone committed the mother’s murder. At that time, Kenneth was in the room with the door closed and wearing headphones. He came out after the mother’s murder and helped in dragging the body into the toilet and cleaning the house. Later, father and sister came. At that time, Shwetha got more angry and said she stabbed her father and sister too.

Though she claimed she killed all three, the father Somasundar, in his dying declaration, stated that Kenneth was the murderer. Somasundar had said that he was stabbed with a knife. Currently, the KR Puram police team in Puducherry has taken the accused Shwetha into custody and is expected to bring her to Bengaluru by Wednesday evening.

Shwetha had reportedly called her mother Muthulakshmi and sister to her house the day before the murder. Shwetha’s parents had come to the apartment flat where Shwetha lived on Sunday itself and stayed on till evening. Shwetha then said that her mother will stay will stay with her at Sai Green Homes apartment at Dominic Layout, Seegehalli, in KR Pura and asked her father and sister to return home at Nallurahalli in Varthur.

The next day after 3 pm, despite repeatedly calling, Muthulakshmi didn’t answer her phone. Shwetha and Kenneth’s mobiles were also switched off. The father and sister came to Shwetha’s flat around 8 pm, but by then, the accused had put the body in the toilet and cleaned the blood stains.

As soon as they entered the apartment, the house looked suspicious to Supriya and Somasundar, and they questioned Shwetha about Muthulakshmi. At that time, saying “nothing, nothing will happen, come”, she called Supriya and stabbed her Supriya when she went straight towards the toilet.

Then, Shwetha stabbed her father Somasundar too when he tried to intervene. While Muthulakshmi was murdered at 2.30 pm on Monday, father Somasundar and sister Supriya were killed at 8 pm at night. It has come to light that Shwetha and Kenneth committed the murder together.

The background of the triple murder accused is dramatic. The accused fell in love while studying B.Tech at New Horizon College. After completing B.Tech, both got jobs and were in a live-in relationship. Due to some reasons, both quit their jobs. Planning to start their own business, they took a loan of Rs 30 lakh from HDFC Bank in their parents’ names.

As they didn’t pay any interest or EMI on the Rs 30 lakh loan, a notice went to the parents. Until then, the parents didn’t know the accused had taken a loan. When the notice came from the bank, the matter came to light and parents went home to question them. Accused Kenneth’s parents also didn’t know about them being in a live-in relationship. Kenneth’s father is a HAL employee. Kenneth was unhappy as he didn’t get support from parents.

Meanwhile, a diary was found during a search of Shwetha’s house which has been writing for several days. Writings like “I am sad… I am lonely… feeling unloved… I am depressed…. I am superior….” were found in the diary. Police have collected several pieces of evidence along with the diary from the house.

Earlier in the day, Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh expressed dissatisfaction with the police officials’ performance for not arresting the killers even 24 hours after the incident. The accused were not using mobiles and were moving without being caught on CCTV cameras. Over 70 police personnel including police officers conducting intense search.