A 25-year-old Bengaluru woman accused of murdering her parents and younger sister last month told a magistrate’s court Thursday that she wanted to voluntarily confess to the crime, but the court said any judicial confession would have to be recorded before another magistrate.
Shwetha Somasundar and her live-in partner, Kenneth, 25, have been arrested for the alleged murder of Shwetha’s parents, Muthulakshmi S and Somasundar, and her sister, Supriya, at an apartment in K R Puram, where she lived with Kenneth.
Shwetha, a tech sector employee in Bengaluru, who was produced before a magistrate’s court, at the end of her police custody, moved an application to confess to her crime.
Asked by the court whether she understood the legal consequences of making a confession, Shwetha said she was aware of the implications and “would like to proceed”. She said she had already confessed to the police about the crime and would like to reiterate her statements in court.
The magistrate’s court took the application filed by Shwetha on record but stated that it should be forwarded through the investigating officer, as per Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). “The statement cannot be made before this court, which would be the trial court. It needs to be made before another magistrate,” the court said.
The magistrate’s court remanded Shwetha to judicial custody for 15 days at the end of her police custody, and stated that the application to make a confession should be made in accordance with legal procedures.
Kenneth was not produced before the court on Thursday as his police custody had been extended on July 3 to allow investigators to conduct scientific tests, including brain mapping.
The motive
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According to sources familiar with the accused’s statements, Shwetha claimed she resented her mother, Muthulakshmi, whom she described as “controlling”. The sources said the resentment intensified after her mother repeatedly questioned her about bank loans totalling about Rs 30 lakh, which investigators allege were taken to support Kenneth’s lifestyle.
Shwetha and Kenneth allegedly killed Muthulakshmi in a premeditated plot after inviting her to stay at their flat. They reportedly killed Somasundar and Supriya when they came to the flat in search of Muthulakshmi, whose phone remained unresponsive after the murder at the apartment.
Key evidence
Among the key pieces of evidence cited by the Bengaluru police is the dying declaration of Shwetha’s father, Somasundar, who was found around 9 pm on June 22 with multiple stab wounds on a staircase of the Sai Green apartment complex. Before succumbing to his injuries, Somasundar told the police he had been stabbed multiple times by Shwetha and Kenneth.
“I managed to escape from them. My younger daughter, Supriya, and my wife, Muthulakshmi, are still in the apartment. Please rescue them,” Somasundar is reported to have stated to the police before he was taken to the hospital on June 22, where he died, as per the FIR.
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According to police sources, investigators have found evidence that Kenneth used internet search engines and AI tools to look up ways to carry out the murder before Shwetha’s mother was invited to stay at the couple’s apartment. The Bengaluru police have written to Google and other service providers seeking records of the accused’s search history as part of the investigation.
“The searches are part of the digital evidence in the case, and this is being collected for the case,” a source said.
According to police sources, investigators are attempting to retrieve emails exchanged between Shwetha and Kenneth that they believe could provide further evidence of Shwetha’s alleged resentment towards her mother.
Investigators have uncovered evidence suggesting that the accused had initially planned to kill only the mother and dispose of her body before the unexpected arrival of the two other family members at their apartment.
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According to investigators, Shwetha and Kenneth had accumulated debts of nearly Rs 30 lakh. Investigators also allege that Shwetha was involved in frequent disputes with her family over a share in the family property and suspect the murders may have been triggered after her parents refused to divide it.
While the police said it was a conspiracy, in her purported statement, Shwetha claimed that she murdered her mother, and Kenneth helped her clean the apartment and conceal evidence after the crime.
Shwetha was arrested in Puducherry on June 24, two days after the murders, and Kenneth on June 26, four days after the crime.
