Tearful colleagues of a nurse murdered together with her young son and daughter have laid flowers in her memory, and the children’s head teacher has spoken of how they will be missed.
Anju Asok, 35, Jeeva Saju, 6, and Janvi Saju, 4, were found with serious injuries in a ground-floor flat at a block in a cul-de-sac in Kettering, Northamptonshire, on Thursday morning.
A man “covered in blood” was arrested on suspicion of murder. Northamptonshire Police say they are still questioning a 52-year-old man and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.
Ms Asok was pronounced dead at around 11.15am at the flat at Petherton Court. Jeeva and Janvi later died in hospital.
Sarah Powell, head teacher at Kettering Park Infant Academy, which the two children attended, said the school was devastated by the news.
“They were delightful and caring children who had many friends at our school,” she told the BBC. “They will be sadly missed by us all.”
Ms Asok was a staff nurse at Kettering General Hospital, whose chief executive paid fond tribute to her.
Deborah Needham said: “Yesterday we received the extremely upsetting news that one of our colleagues had died in circumstances being investigated by Northamptonshire Police.
“Anju Asok was an internationally trained nurse who joined our KGH family in 2021 and predominantly worked on Barnwell B, one of our orthopaedic wards.
“She was a committed and compassionate staff nurse, who was loved and respected by her dear friends and colleagues.
“All our thoughts are with her friends and family as they come to terms with this sudden loss.
“The hospital is offering appropriate professional support to her colleagues at this difficult time.”
Another nurse, Sarah Haylett, who laid a teddy bear near the police cordon, told BBC Look East: “Things like this don’t happen in Kettering, so [it was] the biggest shock when we heard it on the news yesterday.”
Horrified neighbours told how armed police and an air ambulance descended on the scene.
One local resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I’ve heard the bloke was arrested nearby after a couple of hours and was covered in blood.
“It’s just absolutely horrific so close to Christmas. Those poor babies hadn’t even started out in life.
“There are a lot of elderly people who live in those flats and I didn’t know the family myself.
“I just heard shouting and looked outside and saw flashing blue lights.
“There was an air ambulance, armed police and it was just crazy really.
“It’s hard to comprehend the horror at the moment. We’re still digesting it.
“They were just innocent children probably looking forward to Christmas, I can’t get my head around it.”
Another resident, who lives further down the road, said: “It’s really heartbreaking to hear. It’s no way to go for anyone.
“It’s terrible. Especially kids. All the school kids walked past the flat earlier as well as they went to church.”
One woman, who also did not want to be identified, said: “The children used to come over and see the dogs.
“We don’t have that much going on here on this street. We’re all pretty close. It’s such a shock.
“It’s all so sad. It’s Christmas. It’s like the lake with the little boys who died.
“It’s a quiet area really. My grandkids are aged 10 and it really hits home.”
Northamptonshire Police said in a statement: “Formal identification is yet to take place. However, the woman is believed to be 35-year-old Anju Asok, and the two children – Jeeva Saju, aged 6, and Janvi Saju, aged 4.
“A man arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the incident remains in police custody being questioned by detectives.”
Police have appealed for any witnesses to get in touch and post-mortem examinations are expected to take place in the coming days.
On Thursday evening a Vauxhall Zafira parked outside the flat was taken away on a flat-bed lorry by police.
Local policing area commander Superintendent Steve Freeman said: “There are no words to describe how upsetting this incident is but I want to reassure the public that we have a team of detectives working on the case, absolutely determined to get justice for this woman and the two children.”
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Simon Barnes said: “We continue to work around the clock to progress this investigation and establish the timeline of events which led to these tragic deaths.”
Indian news website Onmanorama reported that Ms Asok’s father, Ashok AG, a single parent, had taken out a loan to send her to a nursing school in Hyderabad, but that after the killings, a friend of his said: “Today he told me his biggest mistake was educating his daughter. He is shattered. He thinks Anju would have been alive if she had not become a nurse and gone to the UK.”
