Indian-origin teen accused of killing mother, brother in US

Washington: A 17-year-old Indian-origin boy has been charged with murdering his mother and younger brother at their family home in Massachusetts after an overnight search ended with his arrest in a neighbouring town.

Arjun Aravind, a resident of Acton, faces two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of his mother, Sudha Venkatesan, 45, and his 14-year-old brother, Siddharth Aravind, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

He has also been charged with two counts each of assault and battery on a household or family member and assault and battery, as well as theft of a motor vehicle and use of a vehicle without authority, IANS reported.

Prosecutors allege that the teenager fatally assaulted his mother and brother inside their Martha Lane home on Tuesday before leaving in Venkatesan’s green 2014 Honda Accord.

Authorities were alerted shortly after 6.30pm when a tutor arrived for an appointment but was unable to contact anyone inside the house, according to a report in The Times of India.

The tutor contacted Aravind’s father, who also tried unsuccessfully to reach his family before asking Acton police to conduct a wellbeing check. He had last spoken to his wife early that morning before leaving for work, while his younger son was last seen at about noon.

Officers entering the house found Siddharth on the first floor and Venkatesan in the finished basement. Both had suffered visible trauma.

The Massachusetts chief medical examiner has yet to determine the precise cause and manner of their deaths. Authorities have also not disclosed whether a weapon was recovered or what may have been used in the alleged attacks.

Aravind and his mother’s car were missing when officers searched the property, prompting police to alert nearby law-enforcement agencies and ask members of the public to look out for the teenager and the vehicle. Residents were warned not to approach him.

The search ended early on Wednesday when police in Wayland responded to an unrelated alarm in a parking area on Andrew Avenue. Officers found the missing Honda Accord with Aravind inside, and he was taken into custody without incident.

Police departments from eight neighbouring communities assisted in the operation.

The district attorney’s office said investigators had uncovered what it described as concerning online activity by the teenager before the deaths.

“The subsequent investigation indicates that Arjun had recently been demonstrating concerning behaviour, including using the Internet and ChatGPT, to make searches for theoretical ideas or fantasies regarding killing his family,” the office said in a statement quoted by IANS.

The Times of India reported that some of the interactions involved requests for “Gothic novel-kind of stories”, including the creation of fictional characters. Authorities have not said whether investigators believe those searches were directly connected to the alleged killings, and no motive has been publicly disclosed.

Aravind was arraigned in Lowell Juvenile Court on Wednesday on the motor vehicle-related charges. The murder and associated assault charges are expected to be handled in Concord District Court because the state’s juvenile courts do not have jurisdiction over murder cases.

Under Massachusetts law, a person aged 14 or older who is accused of murder can be prosecuted as an adult.

The investigation is being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Acton police and the Massachusetts State Police detective unit attached to the prosecutor’s office.