Bengaluru engineer uses AI to plan triple murder of partner's family in K R Puram

The K R Puram police have arrested a 25-year-old engineer and his live-in partner for allegedly executing the triple murder of the partner's parents and younger sister on the evening of June 22 at an apartment complex in K R Puram, Bengaluru. Investigators revealed that the engineer spent six months planning the execution and body disposal by repeatedly consulting an artificial intelligence tool.

The suspects, Kenneth, 25, and Shwetha Somasundar, 25, were arrested for the brutal murders of Shwetha’s mother Muthulakshmi S, 48, father Somasundar, 54, and sister Supriya, 20. According to police sources, the motive was rooted in financial strain and domestic resentment. Shwetha reportedly held animosity toward her mother and feared being forced to return Rs 50 lakh that she had borrowed and squandered on Kenneth's lifestyle.

On June 22, Muthulakshmi was lured to the K R Puram flat, where Kenneth allegedly stabbed her 26 times. When Shwetha’s father and sister arrived at the apartment shortly after, they were also stabbed. Following the attack, the couple allegedly stole cash and silver ornaments from Shwetha’s parental home in southeast Bengaluru before fleeing to Puducherry.

The crime was discovered after the father, Somasundar, managed to crawl out of the flat. At around 9 p.m., neighbours found him bleeding on the staircase of the Sai Green apartment complex. Before succumbing to his injuries at the hospital, Somasundar gave a dying declaration to responding officers, stating that he had been attacked by Shwetha and Kenneth.

During interrogation, Kenneth confessed to using an AI tool to plan the crimes. He reportedly sought advice on methods to kill three people, chemicals to clean bloodstains, packaging the bodies, and repurposing an iron furnace he had built for a planned cloud kitchen to incinerate the remains. The Bengaluru police have written to the parent technology company of the AI tool to request complete logs of Kenneth's chat histories.

Shwetha was arrested in Puducherry on June 24 and was remanded to judicial custody on July 10. Kenneth, who underwent polygraph and scientific testing, was remanded to judicial custody by a Bengaluru magistrate court on Saturday.