Hyderabad: The case of four members of a Telugu family being found shot dead at their house in Iowa in the United States could turn out to be a case of murder-cum-suicide. The bodies of the family who hailed from Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh were found with bullet injuries on Saturday.
Some of their relatives were in the house when the shooting took place.
Chandrasekhar Sunkara, his wife Lavanya Sunkara, 44, and two sons aged 15 and 10 were found dead at their newly purchased house at 935, 65th street, West Des Moines, Iowa.
A friend close of the family told Deccan Chronicle, “Chandrase-khar who is fondly called Chandu took his wife, sons and his in-laws for a family dinner on Friday. They all watched a movie in the basement of the two-storey house that they had recently purchased.”
“What we are told is that Chandu who reportedly possessed a gun shot Lavanya first at about 2.30 am, and then his two sons who were asleep on the first floor. On hearing the sounds, his sister-in-law and her children who were sleeping in the basement woke up. Chandu told them that the shooting was in the neighbourhood and went upstairs. He shot himself there. It was the family who informed the police,” the friend said.
The reasons for the murder-cum-suicide could be Chandra-sekhar’s unhappiness since he purchased a new house or his depression over the ill-health of his elder son. The family was financially strong, sources said. During the investigation, police found multiple gunshots on the bodies.
Members of the local Telugu community who are helping with the investigation are also holding the visitation of the dead. The West Des Moines Police is investigating about the purchase of the gun used in the crime.
Chandrasekhar was working with Iowa department of public safety’s Technology Service Bureau while Lavanya was a software engineer. He had been living in Iowa since 2005 and was a US citizen. His two sisters were in Hyderabad when his mother passed away in 2013.
“Chandu was very active in sports, he loved cricket. In fact he formed a team called DSM Tigers in 2010 where I first met him. He used to take the lead in organising tournaments and events,” a friend said.
The children were said to be well-behaved. The family had purchased the house in March.
