Police have named a father suspected of killing his twin teenage daughters and their mother before he hanged himself in an apparent triple murder-suicide.
Pullarkattil Rethishkumar, 44, is thought to have smothered wife Shighi, 37, and Niya and Neha, 13, before travelling to a reservoir in east London where he took his own life.
Officers went to a house in Chadwell Heath on Monday evening after concerns were raised about the welfare of the residents, but they left as there was no response and no sign of a disturbance.
The bodies of the twins and their mother, a social worker, were found when the officers returned on Tuesday evening, sparking a hunt for the girls’ father.
The following morning his body was found in Woodford reservoir, Walthamstow.
Detectives named the family on Thursday and said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.
There were no visible signs of injury on the mother or girls’ bodies, increasing the likelihood that they were suffocated. Postmortem examinations are due to be held on Thursday at East Ham mortuary.
Scotland Yard has referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission because officers who attended the family home on Monday left having had no response.
Pullarkattil, who worked for Redbridge council’s libraries and leisure department, said on Facebook that he had been married to Shighi since 21 May 2001 and the pair were approaching their 14th wedding anniversary.
Shighi had been a social worker in Havering, north-east London, since January 2008, when the pair moved to London from Thrissur in India.
Neighbours said it was an unprecedented incident for such a quiet area. One resident, Samantha Puholy, 45, said: “I’m very surprised. It’s not like someone broke in and did it ... so it’s very sad. It’s a safe and quiet neighbourhood. The girls had their whole lives ahead of them.”
Students from the local school, Chadwell Heath academy, said the girls were very quiet. Nafeesa Boodle, 14, said she used to see the girls in the canteen. “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.”
Nafeesa’s mum, Samantha Boodle, 34, said police cordoned off the area at about 4pm on Tuesday. “Where I live [down the road], everyone knows everyone, but in this block everyone’s quiet. I never see anyone go in or out.”
