Kochi | Five persons, including three children, were found dead at a rented house at Vaduthala here on Saturday, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Sreekumari (58), her daughter Aswathi Nair (36), two grandsons aged 14 and 4, and a two-year-old granddaughter.

They were natives of Vilappilsala in Thiruvananthapuram and had been staying in a rented house on Karsaka Road in Vaduthala.

Police suspect that the children were poisoned before Sreekumari and Aswathi hanged themselves.

According to police, the family had been living in the house since February for the treatment of the elder son at a nearby private hospital and were about to vacate the premises.

The incident came to light when a cable TV operator, who had come for work, noticed the two women hanging inside the room through a window and alerted others, police said.

The house owner and police soon reached the spot and initiated an investigation.

Police said Aswathi’s husband had died about eight months ago after the couple had separated.

He was allegedly suffering from liver disease due to alcoholism.

Following his death, neighbours and people close to the family had allegedly blamed Aswathi and her mother, officials said.

A police officer said the family was financially sound, as they were paying a monthly rent of Rs 35,000 and owned property and a house in Thiruvananthapuram.

Police said that a suicide note was recovered from the house.

The bodies were later shifted to Kalamassery Medical College, where postmortem examinations will be conducted on Sunday.

Ernakulam North Police have registered a case and begun an investigation.