Police to conduct brain-mapping test on Bengaluru triple murder accused

The Bengaluru police are conducting a series of scientific tests on Kenneth, the 25‑year‑old live‑in partner of Shwetha Somasundar, as they seek to identify a clear motive behind the June 22 triple murder in which Shwetha’s parents and younger sister were killed.

The K R Puram police on Friday obtained Kenneth’s custody for an additional nine days, citing the need to conduct brain mapping and narcoanalysis tests after the completion of polygraph tests while he was in police custody from July 3 to July 10. A magistrate’s court in Bengaluru granted custody after Kenneth consented to undergoing the additional tests.

Kenneth and Shwetha, the first and second accused in the case, respectively, were arrested for the cold-blooded murder of her parents, Muthulakshmi S, 48, and Somasundar, 54, and her sister Supriya, 20, at an apartment in K R Puram where Shweta lived with Kenneth.

Shwetha was sent to judicial custody on Thursday after the police informed the court that it had concluded its probe, for now, into her alleged role in the murder. In court, Shwetha, a former employee with a social media news forum, told the magistrate that she wanted to turn approver in the case and confess to the crime. “She has begun to feel the guilt of the crime,” a police source said about the move.

What is the motive: Police investigate

Despite Shwetha’s claims of being the pivotal figure in the murders of her parents and sister, the police are still grappling with the question of the exact motive for Kenneth to participate in the murder plan.

“This is a new age kind of murder. There is no typical strong motive of gain, lust, enmity, fit of rage, etc., which we see in other murders. It has come from a sense of frustration and deep resentment. They have planned to kill without understanding the consequences and have started to feel guilty after the crime,” a police source involved with the investigation said.

Kenneth, who also worked in the tech sector and met Shwetha while they were in college, had no familial ties and did not nurture direct resentment against her family, sources said.

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“The series of scientific tests is being conducted to try to ascertain in greater detail the underlying motive for the murder. It was a premeditated murder which was jointly planned and executed by the two accused,” the source added. “We do not know what lies beneath the surface.”

While the police have zeroed in on a financial motive—Shwetha borrowed over Rs 30 lakh to allegedly finance Kenneth’s lifestyle and defaulted on payments, drawing flak from her mother, whose address was used for the loan—this angle alone has not convinced investigators.

While Shwetha occasionally shared the Sai Green apartment, where she lived, with Kenneth, the police claimed they were not in a relationship. “They were good friends. A platonic relationship, which is quite common with the youth,” a source said.

Evidence suggests premeditated murder

The police have allegedly found evidence to suggest the triple murders were premeditated. The accused bought a bean bag and courier boxes prior to the crime to possibly dispose of the bodies after the murder, sources said.

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The police have also found that Kenneth allegedly looked up modes of committing murder on the internet. “It was not a direct search but something like what to do when three intruders enter a house,” a source added.

A kitchen knife that was already in the house was used to inflict multiple stab wounds when Shwetha’s family members visited the flat on June 22, at two different points in the evening. “They were planning a murder, but they were not clear about whether they would go through with their plans,” the source said.

Trail led police to Puducherry

Both Shwetha and Kenneth belonged to well-to-do middle-class families in Bengaluru, where the parents, as first-generation migrants, had established themselves to provide a good education and means for their children.

While Kenneth’s father is a former employee of a major PSU in Bengaluru involved in aircraft manufacturing, Shwetha’s father was employed with a major global IT company.

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After allegedly committing the triple murder, Shwetha and Kenneth fled to Puducherry, a favourite destination of the duo, the police said. “They had gone to Puducherry around 15 days prior to the murder for a holiday,” the source said.

Among the clues that led the police to Puducherry—where Shwetha was caught on June 24 and Kenneth on June 26—were the CCTV trails of their exit from their apartment complex after the murders and at different locations on the night of June 22.