Victims Family

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By Jon IronmongerBBC Look East

A man who admitted murdering his wife and their Two Children has been jailed For Life with a minimum term of 40 Years .

Anju Asok, 35, Jeeva Saju, six, and Janvi Saju, four, were found with serious injuries at Saju Chelavalel's home in Kettering in Northamptonshire on 15 December 2022.

Chelavalel, 52, of Petherton Court, pleaded guilty in April.

Ms Asok, a nurse, died at The Scene and The Children died later in hospital.

Post-mortem examinations found all three victims died from asphyxiation, Northamptonshire Police said.

Chelavalel, originally from Kerala in India, claimed he lost control while drunk in the belief that his wife was having An Affair , killing her at around 22:00 GMT on 14 December at their ground-floor flat in Petherton Court, Kettering.

Northampton Crown Court heard how Chelavalel had More Than four hours " to reflect on whether to kill his children" before using a dressing gown cord to strangle them in the Early Hours of The Following morning.

Sentencing him, Judge Mr Justice Pepperall said: " While you were squeezing The Life out of your wife, your young children were screaming for their mummy.

" I cannot be sure if they were eyewitnesses but it is clear that they heard what was going on and knew that she was being hurt by you. "

Prosecutor James Newton-Price KC said there was no evidence to support The Claim that Anju had been unfaithful.

However an examination of Chelavalel's phone showed that he had been searching dating websites for other women while she was at work.

The Court was played a harrowing recording found on the defendant's phone of banging noises followed by The Sound of A Woman screaming or gasping and a child crying or calling out.

Mr Newton-Price said it was The Prosecution 's belief that it was a recording of Anju being strangled.

He Said the audio recording also captured The Sound of a blender being used to make a " toxic" mixture of chocolate and pills intended to send The Children to sleep.

The Court heard that police officers attended The Flat after receiving a call from a neighbour who was concerned for The Family 's welfare.

Anju had failed to turn up for work as an orthopaedic nurse at Kettering General Hospital and The Children were not at school.

After gaining entry to The Flat , officers found Chelavalel holding a knife to his throat. He asked The Police to shoot him and said that he wanted to die, before he was Tasered.

The Body of Anju Ashok was found on the floor of an adjoining bedroom. The couple's children were described in a police statement as " laying perfectly side-by-side on The Double bed".

Offering mitigation, defence barrister George Carter-Stephenson KC said the circumstances of the case were tragic in the extreme for relatives of The Victims .

He Said : " They are also tragic for this particular defendant. Whatever sentence The Court imposes on him today he has To Live with The Knowledge of what he did on that particular night. "

In addition to his jail term, Chelavalel was prohibited from contacting any of his victims' Family Members .

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Source of news: bbc.com