Life sentence for monster Saju Chelavalel who murdered wife and children at Kettering flat

A monster who murdered his wife and two young children at their flat in Kettering will spend at least 40 years behind bars.

Saju Chelavalel killed Anju Asok before taking the life of son Jeeva Saju, six, and four-year-old daughter Janvi Saju.

Their bodies were found after police forced entry to their home in Petherton Court at about 11.15am on December 15 last year. A post-mortem examination revealed that all three died as a result of asphyxiation.

Anju had been due to attend work at 7am on December 15 and was to be picked up at 6am but did not answer her phone. When a friend called Chelavalel he said Anju had already called in sick, but neighbours grew concerned and called police.

Prosecutor James Newton-Price said Chelavalel was holding a knife when police burst in, despite repeated requests for him to put the knife down, he continued to wield it whilst shouting “you shoot me” before he was Tasered.

Chelavalel admitted killing his wife and penned a letter to police where he accused Anju of cheating on him. An examination of her phone found the accusations were not true - but Chelavalel himself had been using dating sites in the days up to the killings.

Distressing audio footage was played in court of screams, coughs and crying from the time of Anju’s death. Chelavalel held his head in his hands and sobbed uncontrollably as it was played.

The court heard Chelavalel had claimed he did not meant kill Anju and ‘wanted to shock her’. He then wrote a suicide note and killed Jeeva and Janvi, saying he didn’t want to leave them alone. He had made them a mix of chocolate, sugar, water and sleeping pills but they did not drink it and he later strangled them.

Today (Monday), communicating through a Malayalam interpreter, the 52-year-oldweptin the dock at Northampton Crown Court as he appeared for sentence having admitted three counts of murder in April.

The court heard he had been described as a man who was ‘devoted to his family’.

Mitigating, George Carter-Stephenson said: “Whatever sentence this court imposes on him today, he has to live for the rest of his life with the knowledge of what he did on that particular night.”

He added that the killing of Anju was ‘spontaneous’ and that Chelavalel’s alcohol-clouded thought process led him to believe that the children should go with him when he died by suicide.

High Court judge The Honourable Mr Justice Pepperall sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years before he will be eligible to be considered for parole.

He told him: “It may well be that you are never released from custody.”

Anju, 35, worked at Kettering General Hospital and moved to the UK from Kerala in India in 2021. The internationally-trained nurse predominantly worked on Barnwell B, one of the hospital’s orthopaedic wards. KGH chief executive Deborah Needham described her as a committed and compassionate staff nurse, who was loved and respected by her dear friends and colleagues.

Jeeva and his sister Janvi were pupils at nearby Kettering Park Infant Academy in Park Avenue having joined the school in 2022. After their death headteacher Sarah Powell paid tribute to them and said they were delightful and caring children who had many friends at the school.

More to follow.