- Police were called to a house after the twin's school raised concerns
- They found the mother and two 13-year-old girls dead and father missing
- Family named as mother Shigi Rethishkumar and her twins Niya and Neha
- Pullarkattil Rethishkumar was pronounced dead at the scene this morning
A father killed his wife and twin daughters before hanging himself at a nearby reservoir, police believe.
The
body of Pullarkattil Rethishkumar, 44, was found by police yesterday
after his wife Shighi, 37, and 13-year-old daughters, Niya and Neha,
were found dead at their Essex home on Tuesday.
Police
had smashed down the door after teachers at the girls' school raised
concerns. Tests are expected to take place today to discover how Mrs
Rethishkumar and her daughters died.
Shigi
Rethishkumar (left) and her 13-year-old twins Niya and Neha (second left
and far right) were found dead at their home in Chadwell Heath. Their
father (centre) Pullarkattil Rethishkumar was found hanged yesterday
Police were
called to a ground-floor flat on Grove Road, Chadwell Heath in east
London (pictured) where they found the bodies of a woman and her two
teenage daughters yesterday at 1.10pm
Police were called to the house after a disturbance on Monday evening but the family were found yesterday
Police said none of them had suffered any visible injuries, raising the prospect that they were suffocated or poisoned.
Neighbours
said they last saw the family outside their £210,000 flat in Chadwell
Heath on Sunday. Police were contacted after the promising year eight
pupils did not attend Chadwell Heath Academy on Monday.
Officers knocked on the door and were heard shouting to see if anyone was in on Monday night but left without going inside.
They
returned to the small two-bedroom property on Tuesday and knocked down
the front door. Inside, they found the bodies of Mrs Rethishkumar, a
social worker, and her daughters.
Yesterday
morning, Rethishkumar, who worked for Redbridge Council's culture and
leisure services, was found hanged beside a Walthamstow reservoir.
Neighbours said the family were from the southern Indian state of Kerala and moved to the UK about eight years ago.
The two girls settled in at local schools as their parents both found work in the local public sector.
They
both appear in dozens of photographs posted online by their parents as
they attended holidays, days out in the park and school events.
The family, who are originally from
the South Indian state of Kerala, lived in their ground-floor for around
eight years, according to neighbours
Dozens of friends turned up outside
the three-storey block today to pay tribute to their classmates, who
they described as 'kind and shy'
Mr and Mrs Rethishkumar (left) are thought to have married in 2001, before having their twin girls (right)
Mr Rethishkumar pictured with his twin girls, wearing matching outfits, when they were younger
The family pose for a picture at the
seaside. The girls and their mother were found dead yesterday while
their father's body was discovered today
A birthday cake for twins Neha and
Niya's birthdays. The two girls were discovered dead alongside their
mother at an east London house
Several videos show the twins on stage with friends performing traditional Indian dances while dressed in elaborate costumes.
The family are believed to have been active members of the local East London Malayalee Association.
People
from Kerala often describe themselves as Malayalee. Last night, dozens
of shocked school friends gathered outside the family's home as they
tried to come to terms with the tragedy.
They described the teenagers as kind and shy girls who were 'completely inseparable'.
But
some said the girls had not attended school regularly in recent weeks
and there were claims one or both of them had briefly run away from
home.
A
44-year-old man was found hanged near a reservoir in Walthamstow in
north east London (left), hours after a woman, thought to be his wife,
and twin girls were found dead at their home in Chadwell Heath (right)
Forensic officers were searching
woodland near Walthamstow Forest today after the discovery of the man's
body was found hanging, after he had gone missing from his address
Police are at the scene in Chadwell Heath, where the family lived in a block of low-rise flats (pictured)
There were no signs of visible injuries on the women in the house but a post-mortem examination will be carried out later today
Officers were
searching for the 44-year-old father, who had gone missing from the
address (right on map), but he was found hanged at a nearby reservoir
today (left on map)
Arjan Padam, 13, who was in Niya's form, said: 'She was kind and quiet. They always hung around with each other.
'They never caused any trouble and they were hard-working and shy. Niya would keep herself to herself. They weren't outgoing.'
Another
friend said: 'We knew their mum too, because every day she used to walk
them to school. We thought it was a bit odd, because they live like two
minutes away, but I think there was some problem last year and the
police were called to school.
'There were rumours one of the twins had run away from home.'
A Scotland Yard spokesman said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.
She said the failure to discover the bodies on Monday night had been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
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