Their American dream ended in a pool of their own blood, at their own hand, and at their homes. But the world will never know what drove these Indian-origin families in the US to this extreme step because the police have either closed their investigation or will, as has been the trend.
Anand Sujith Henry, 37, his wife Alice Priyanka Benziger, 38, and their 4-year-old twin children Noah and Neithan were found dead at their home in San Mateo, California on February 13.
The police called it a case of murder-suicide in which Henry killed his wife, their children, and himself.
“We do not yet have an answer towards the motive to share,” said Jeanine Luna, Community Relations Officer, San Mateo Police Department, on Monday, almost a month after the discovery of the bodies.
Henry and Benziger came to the US from Kerala for higher studies and stayed on. They were both IT professionals. Henry worked for Google and then Meta before founding his own AI company and she worked for Zillow. Both died of gunshots and the children had either been smothered or poisoned because there were no signs of trauma on their bodies.
A month ago, another Indian-descent family was found dead at their home in Dover, Massachusetts. The police said Rakesh Kamal, 57, had shot his wife Teena Kamal, 54, and their daughter Arianna Kamal, 18, before turning the gun on himself.
The motive appeared to be financial troubles.
Kamal was under a mountain of debt and had been served an eviction notice from their multi-million dollar home.
He had been living it up without the means to support his expensive taste for luxury cars and bespoke suits.
But there are no leads to the motives or reasons for the two Indian-descent families that were found dead at their home in Dublin, Ohio in February 2023.
Rajan Rajaram, 54, had shot himself after killing his wife Santhalatha Rajan, 51, and their son Anish Rajan Rajaram, 19.
Rajaram worked as an engineer for Technosoft Corporation, based in Cincinnati. “This case has been closed and ruled a murder-suicide. The Dublin Police Department does not have any information on a motive per that investigation,” said Rebecca Myers, Public Information Officer for the city of Dublin, Ohio.
Why did Rajaram, who had lived in that house since 1998, take this extreme step?
Another family’s end is headed for a similar blind alley.
Tej Pratap Singh, 43 had killed his wife Sonal Parihar, 42, and their son, 10 and daughter, six.
Singh, a software engineer from Kanpur, and the family came to the US in 2009 and neighbours have recalled them as a nice and happy family.
The bodies were found at their home in Plainsboro, New Jersey.
The police have suggested it was a case of murder-suicide. But why did Singh take this extreme step?
The police “informed me that they are in the process of closing out that investigation. No criminal charges are being filed due to the fact of all parties being deceased”, said Brynn Krause, Public Information Officer of Middlesex County prosecutor’s office, which has jurisdiction over the Plainsboro Township Police Department.
