Murder-Suicide: Indian American Couple and Their Two Young Children Found Dead in Plainsboro, New Jersey
- The victims were identified as Tej Pratap Singh, 43, and Sonal Parihar, 42, and their two children — a 10-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl.
Four members of an Indian American family, including two young children, were found dead in their home in Plainsboro, New Jersey, in an apparent case of murder-suicide. The victims were identified as father and mother Tej Pratap Singh, 43, and Sonal Parihar, 42, and their two children — a 10-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. The bodies were discovered when a relative called the police for a welfare check at the home yesterday (Oct. 4). ABC News has reported that Singh allegedly killed his wife and children before killing himself.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office has not yet released the cause of death. “This tragedy remains under investigation and autopsies are being performed today,” according to a press release issued this morning.
Family members told CBS New York the parents were a happy couple and they both worked in IT. Singh, an IIT Kanpur alumni, was the lead engineer at Ness Digital Engineering, according to his LinkedIn profile where he describes himself as “a passionate, hands-on, senior technology executive with 16+ years of diverse technical and business experience, with emphasis on the design, configuration, management, and business continuity of large, distributed enterprise systems. Extensive experience in establishing the strategic value of technology and working hand-in-hand with other senior business executives.” He also served as treasurer of the local elementary school’s PTA, according to nj.com.
Several news reports have quoted the neighbors on the grusome tragedy. A neighbor told MyCentralJersey.com that she “used to see the children playing outside, and the family had a lot of friends in the community.” Speaking to NBC News, some neighbors described the family as “friendly” and would “often be seen walking around the quiet street.” Another neighbor “who asked not to be named,” told NBC she had been friendly with the family “for more than a decade.”
News reports also shared a community message sent on Oct. 4 by West Windsor-Plainfield Regional School District Superintendent David Aderhold. The Singh kids were enrolled at J.V.B. Wicoff Elementary and Millstone River schools. “The District joins our community in grief and sorrow over this tragic event,” Aderhold stated in the message. “The District’s crisis team will be available to support impacted students and staff members affected by this loss.”
(Photo: courtesy, Facebook)