Kolkata cops look for cheating, money angles in triple murder case

Palm Avenue triple murder: Kolkata Police is awaiting the sole survivor of the family Neil’s medical fitness for solving the mystery of his wife Jessica and twin sons Jashua and Daren’s murders.

Kolkata Police on Monday said they are waiting for the lone survivor and the prime suspect in the triple murder in the heart of the city to be declared medically fit so that they can question him further.

Neil Fonseca is the only survivor and also the prime suspect in the case of triple murders of his wife Jessica and their twin sons Jashua and Daren on Saturday.(HT Photo)

Niel Fonseca, a 47-year-old interior decorator, is the prime suspect for the murder of his wife Jessica, 42, and 14-year-old twin sons Jashua and Daren. Jessica and the twins were found dead with their throats slit inside the bedroom of their Palm Avenue apartment in South Kolkata early on Saturday.

Neil is currently undergoing treatment at the state-run Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital for injuries on his throat and wrists. Police officers could speak to him only for a short while and he also offered his statement partly in writing on Saturday.

During preliminary investigation, Neil denied killing his sons and told the police that he had an altercation with his wife at around 4am. Jessica suddenly grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slit the throats of their two boys who were asleep at the time. As he rushed to save them, she allegedly attacked him and during the scuffle he accidentally hit her with a dumbbell that caused her death.

Sleuths probing the case say that Neil is not telling the truth and are awaiting doctors’ permission so that they can question him further.

“We have found several discrepancies in his earlier statement and will interrogate him again. We will have to reconstruct the chronology of the incident,” said a police official.

Since Neil is the lone survivor, his statement along with forensic evidence will play an important role in solving the triple murder case.

“The way the twins and the mother were murdered raises several questions. Also, the lady too had her throat slit but her husband claims that he had attacked her with a dumbbell to save their sons and in the process she got killed. This clearly was not the case,” the police official added.

According to the police, Neil’s 85-year-old mother Shirley, sister Samantha and sister-in-law Shabana Ansar were present in the house at the time of the murders but all of them have claimed that they did not hear anything. Police are also questioning why Neil didn’t shout and call for help if his wife had killed their two sons and also attacked him.

Neil had told police that his wife suspected him of having affairs with several women. She would object whenever any woman called him, he alleged. He also told the police that the altercation early on Saturday started after he got a phone call.

Neil is under an acute financial crunch and had taken a huge loan. Police will explore all these angles once Neil is declared medically fit.