UK court sentences Kerala man to 40 years for murder of wife, two children

London: A local court sentenced 52-year-old Kerala expatriate Saju Chelavalel to 40 years in prison for causing the deaths of his wife and two children. In the course of the Northampton trial, Saju admitted guilt to the allegations. When emergency personnel arrived at a distress call from their Kettering home in December of last year, they learned about the incident and discovered that the family had suffered serious injuries. When they arrived, they found the dead bodies of Saju's wife, Anju Asok (35), and their kids, Jeeva Saju (6) and Janvi Saju (4).

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The Leicester Royal Infirmary's post-mortem investigations determined that all three of the victims had died from asphyxiation due to strangulation. At the Northampton Crown Court, Saju pleaded guilty to three murder charges.

Since 2021, Anju Asok, a nurse at Kettering General Hospital's orthopedic division, had worked there. She was originally from Vaikom in the Kottayam district of Kerala. The hospital honoured her by describing her as a committed and kind staff nurse. Anju obtained a job with Amrita Hospital in Kochi after completing her schooling, spent a few years working in Saudi Arabia, returned to Vaikom to study for the IELTS exam, and eventually found employment in Kettering.

According to reports, Saju was under severe mental stress due to a lack of employment in the UK. The couple got married in 2012. Saju is a native of Kombanpara at Kannur's Padiyoor panchayat. Anju found him through a matrimonial ad in a newspaper. Saju after his Class 12 left home and found a job as a driver in Bengaluru. Later, he was employed as a driver in a Saudi Arabia company. At that time, Anju married Saju. 

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