Houston: An Indian-American couple was found dead in their home in an apparent murder-suicide at an affluent suburb in the US state of Texas, police said Monday.
Police officers were called to the house in Sugar Land Monday around 6 am. They found the bodies of Sreenivas Nakirekanti, 51, and his wife, 46-year-old Shanti Nakirekanti at the scene.
They said Shanti was found with a gunshot wound to her head in the driveway of the home on Pendergrass and Sheffield Court. Sreenivas was lying in the bedroom with a gunshot wound to the chest and a small handgun nearby.
According to preliminary investigations, police feel that Sreenivas shot and killed Shanti and then turned the gun on himself.
According to the authorities a 16-year-old girl was asleep in the home at the time of the shooting. She answered the door for police when they arrived and told them her dad was not coming out of the bedroom. She was not injured and is now in the care and custody of friends belonging to the family, Sugar Land city spokesman Doug Adolph stated. Friends said the couple also has a 21-year-old son who attends the University of Texas.
“The two fatalities fits the scenario of a murder-suicide. This case is still under investigation,” said the Sugar Land Police Department (SLDP) in a press statement. “There is no danger to residents and SLPD is not looking for any suspects,” it noted.
Police told the local press there was no history of domestic violence. People close to the couple said Sreenivas was a director at an energy company here and Shanti was a computer programmer, and they didn’t know of any problems between the two.
PTI