Chadwell Heath killings: police confirm mother and daughters were strangled
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Version 0 of 1. A woman and her twin teenage daughters who were found dead at their home in east London had been strangled, detectives have confirmed. The bodies of Shighi Kotuvala, 37, and her 13-year-old daughters, Niya and Neha Rethishkumar, were discovered in their beds in Chadwell Heath on Tuesday. The girls’ father, Pullarkattil Rethishkumar, 44, was found hanged near a reservoir in Walthamstow, east London, the next day. Police on Friday said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. Days before the bodies were found, Kotuvala, a social worker, had reportedly told Rethishkumar she wanted a divorce. He had wanted to move the family back to India, according to the Evening Standard, citing sources close to the family. Scotland Yard said officers were still searching for relatives of the family, who were originally from Kerala state. The force said it was confident it had correctly identified them, despite lacking formal confirmation. Postmortem examinations were held in East Ham on Thursday after police initially reported that Kotuvala and her daughters had no visible signs of injuries. Rethishkumar is said to have feared his wife and daughters were becoming corrupted by life in the west, but his wife refused to leave the UK and said she and the children would stay without him. An unnamed source told the Evening Standard: “She called her parents on Sunday saying she had said she wanted a divorce. She then sent a message to a friend saying she was fed up of this life. They were having a lot of problems, with the children and between them.” Police said the last confirmed sighting of the family was on Sunday. The case has been reported to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Officers first went to family’s ground-floor flat on Monday evening but did not enter. They acted after concerns were raised by the girls’ schoolteachers but left because there was no response and there were no signs of a disturbance. Police finally broke down the door at 1.10pm on Tuesday and found the bodies of Kotuvala and her children. A manhunt was launched to find the girls’ father. His body was discovered near Walthamstow reservoir at 8.17am the next morning. The Met’s directorate of professional standards is reviewing the police response. The family moved from Kerala, southern India, to east London eight years ago. Kumar worked for Vision Redbridge leisure and culture, which manages sports pitches for Redbridge council, while Kotuvala was a social worker caring for elderly people for Havering council. Niya and Neha were year eight pupils at Chadwell Heath academy. Nafeesa Boodle, 14, told the Guardian earlier this week that she used to see the girls in the school canteen. She said: “They were quiet and always together. You’d never see them with other girls in the year. I guess they were sisters and really close.” Speaking before the postmortem results were released, DS Kenny McDonald, who is overseeing the investigation by the homicide and major crime command unit, said police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. He said: “We are making extensive inquiries to trace next of kin, who we believe to be outside the UK.” |