Saju Chelavalel - live updates from court as killer is sentenced for triple Kettering murder
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Saju Chelavalel is due to be sentenced today (Monday) for murdering his wife and two children in Kettering.
The 52-year-old monster killed Anju Asok, Jeeva Saju and Janvi Saju at their flat in Petherton Court in December last year.
We will be at Northampton Crown Court and will provide live updates from the courtroom as he is sentenced.
Live updates from court as Saju Chelavalel is sentenced for Kettering triple murder
Key Events
- 52-year-old Chelavalel is facing a life sentence for murdering his wife and two children in December
- He killed KGH nurse Anju Asok, 35, son Jeeva Saju, six, and daughter Janvi Saju, four, at their Petherton Court flat
- Forensic post-mortem examinations found that all three died as a result of asphyxiation
Chelavalel has been described in court as a man who was ‘devoted to his children and devoted to his family’.
George Carter-Stephenson KCWhatever 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.
Mr Newton-Price has told Mr Justice Pepperall that a whole-life order can be imposed. As of the end of 2022 there were 66 whole-life prisoners in the UK, including Rosemary West, Levi Bellfield and Wayne Couzens.
If a whole-life order is not made Chelavalel will be facing an extremely lengthy minimum prison term before he can be considered for release and is still likely to die in prison.
Statements from a colleague of Anju and the headteacher of Kettering Park Infant Academy have just been read out in court, detailing the heartbreak the incident caused and impact on people who knew the family.
The court hears 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 because he didn’t want to leave them alone. The court hears he had made them a mix of chocolate, sugar, water and sleeping pills but they did not drink it. He later strangled them.
Distressing audio footage has been played in court of screams, coughs and crying from the incident. Chelavalel held his head in his hands and sobbed uncontrollably as it was played.
Police then found Anju’s body in one bedroom and the bodies of Jeeva and Janvi on the bed in another room. All three had been strangled.
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.
What happened in the days and hours before the incident have been outlined in court. Anju had been due to attend work at 7am on December 15 and was to be picked up at 6am but did not answer. When a friend called Chelavalel he said Anju had already called in sick.
Neighbours grew concerned and called police at 11.12am. Officers arrived and smashed a door to gain entry where they found Chelavalel holding a knife to his throat. He told police to kill him and said “you shoot me” before he was Tasered and arrested.