Pennsylvania Indian American Reportedly Bought a Gun Two Weeks Before Apparent Murder Suicide

New details have emerged about the apparent murder suicide of a Pennsylvania family found in the basement of their home on Jan. 24. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Deepak Kulkarni, 50, of West Whiteland Township, had purchased a gun two weeks before the deaths. Though there has been no official ruling by county investigators, the Inquirer reported that authorities believe that Kulkarni, 50, used that gun to kill his wife, Arti Adya Kulkarni, 47, and their two sons, Shubham, 14, and Sharvil, 7. 

“The Chester County coroner has not issued a ruling on the cause and manner of the four victims’ deaths, other than to call them a murder-suicide,” the Inquirer report said. Police were called to the Kulkarni home after Arti Adya Kulkarni’s brother, Anand Adya called them alerting that his sister and her family were missing. 

He told the Inquirer that he hadn’t heard from his sister for more than a week. He got worried on Jan. 24 when a friend of Kulkarni’s contacted him, saying the father of two was not responding to his calls or texts. It was then that Adya went to his sister’s townhouse in Exton. “When his knocks on the door went unanswered, Adya called police, who gained access to the home using a garage door opener inside one of the family’s cars,” the Inquirer report said. 

Adya told the paper that the last he spoke to his sister was Jan. 17, during a virtual Zoom celebration for their father’s birthday. “She seemed her usual self,” he said, as did her husband.

Adya described his sister as a “model citizen,” and said he and his family are “awash” in grief. “They definitely did not deserve this,” he told the Inquirer. “Arti was the most devoted wife, and an even more devoted mother, sister, and daughter. I was fortunate to have her as a sister.”

He recalled time in recent months how plans he made with his sister “fell through, canceled at the last minute” by Kulkarni without much explanation.“It was obvious,” Adya said. “She wanted to meet, but he didn’t let us.”

Adya told the Inquirer that his brother-in-law was “friendly, but also somewhat secretive.” He said Kulkarni struggled financially early in their marriage, and often asked him for loans. While things appeared to be fine for the past five years, Adya said Kulkarni approached him for another loan in December. Although things weren’t perfect, Adya said his sister never once mentioned or showed signs of trouble. “And during our celebrations, all the way to Jan. 17, there was no inkling that things weren’t perfect.”

Neighbors had earlier told 6abc Action News that the family mainly kept to themselves, but “they did not always get a sense of transparency” from the husband. One neighbor did note, however, that in the last few days the husband seemed distant and not quite himself.

The Kulkarnis had lived in the Mountain View Drive residence for two years, although they had lived in the township prior to that, news reports quoted detective Scott Pezick as saying. The couple had been married for 18 years after meeting in India and had immigrated to America for their careers. 

Kulkarni worked as software analyst for Education Management Solutions in Exton, as per his LinkedIn profile. According to Arti Adya’s LinkedIn profile, she was last employed as an app developer for the University of Pennsylvania. The Kulkarni kids attended Collegium Charter School in Exton, Pennsylvania.