Couple found dead in rented house in Kottayam; suicide suspected

Kottayam (Kerala) | A couple was found dead in a pool of blood at a rented house here on Monday, police said.

The deceased, Sajan Joseph and his wife, Anusha Joseph, were natives of Mannar in Alappuzha district and residing in a rented house at Chirakkadavu in Ponkunnam.

Police said the couple was living on the upper floor of the house along with their three-year-old child.

The incident came to light when the house owner, who lives on the ground floor, noticed the couple's child crying at around 10 am.

As there was no response when he knocked on the door, he broke into the room and found the couple lying dead in a pool of blood, officials said.

Ponkunnam police reached the house and began an investigation. Officials suspect it to be a case of suicide as all the doors were found locked from the inside with no signs of forced entry.

Police said the child was later handed over to relatives who arrived at the house.

Relatives told police that the couple was under severe financial strain and had moved from Mannar to Ponkunnam, officials said.

Ponkunnam police have registered a case of unnatural death in connection with the incident.

The bodies were handed over to relatives after the postmortem, police added.