Indian-origin techie identified as key suspect
An Indian-origin techie has been identified as the suspect behind the killing of his wife and four-year-old twins before turning the gun on himself in the US state of California, police said on Friday.
The suspect was identified as Anand Sujith Henry.
The revelation was made by the police days after the bodies of Anand Sujith Henry, his wife Alice Priyanka, 40, and their twin sons Noah and Neithan were recovered from their USD 2.1 million home in California's San Mateo.
San Mateo Police Department said in a Facebook post: "On Monday, February 12, 2024, at 9:13 a.m., San Mateo Police officers were dispatched to the 4100 block of Alameda de las Pulgas on the report of a welfare check. Officers entered the home and located 1 adult male, 1 adult female, and two children deceased inside."
"At this time, next of kin have been notified and we can now confirm the identities as Anand Henry (father), Alice Benziger (mother), and their minor twin boys. The adults’ identities have been confirmed via fingerprints and the boys have been identified via familial visual identification," police said.
"Both Henry and Benziger succumbed to gunshot wounds and based on the shared investigation to date between the San Mateo Police Department, the San Mateo County Crime Lab, and the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office, Anand Henry has been identified as the suspect," police said.
Police said a 9mm handgun legally registered to Henry was located on the bathroom floor where both adults’ bodies were located.
"Our investigation shows Benziger succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds, while Henry suffered from a single shot. The cause of death for the minor boys is still pending pathology, but we can confirm they did not die from gunfire or show signs of bodily trauma," police said in the Facebook post.
Police are investigating to understand the motive behind the incident.
Authorities said there is no history of violence at the home, and outside of the context of this incident.
"The San Mateo Police Department has only responded to the home since 2020 on reports of a mountain lion in the yard," police said.
Who are Anand and Alice?
Anand and Alice were IT professionals.
They had been living in the USA for the past several years.
They were originally from Kerala.
Anand worked as a software engineer.
His wife was a senior analyst.