Indian-origin family's death in US ruled murder-suicide

New York, Jan 3 (IANS) A recent tragedy that claimed the lives of an Indian-origin couple and their teenage daughter in the US state of Massachusetts has been ruled as a murder-suicide after the examination of autopsy results.

Rakesh Kamal (57), his wife Teena Kamal (54) and their 18-year-old daughter Arianna were found dead in their $ 5 million mansion in Dover on December 28, 2023.

According to NBC-Boston, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday that Rakesh was found to have fatally shot his wife and daughter before turning the gun on himself.

A .40-caliber Glock 22 was found near Rakesh but it was neither registered on his name nor did he have a license to possess it.

The autopsy results from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Teena and Arianna as victims of homicide resulting from gunshot wounds, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said.

The final autopsy report was expected to take several weeks to complete, and the incident remains under investigation by Dover and Massachusetts State Police.

Morrissey had previously said the incident was apparently a case of domestic violence, while also adding that the family had no previous reports involving domestic issues.

He told reporters that at the house "there was no sign of any kind of a break-in", and, therefore, he added, "I am led to believe that it is safe to tell you it's probably a domestic issue incident".

WBZ TV in Boston said that according to investigators a relative went to the house to check on the family, saw someone dead and called police.

Arianna a freshman studying neuroscience at Middlebury College in Vermont, was home for winter break at the time of her murder, according to Morrissey.

There were indications of the family facing financial problems, with Boston 25 News TV reporting that Teena Kamal had filed for bankruptcy in a federal court last year.

It said that she later sold the house for $3 million even though it was valued at $6.8 million.

Teena, who previously ran an education systems company called EduNova with Rakesh, also filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in September 2022.

According to state records, the company was was launched in 2016 but was dissolved in December 2021.