A Malayali man, who murdered his wife and two children at Kettering in the United Kingdom last December, has been sentenced to a minimum term of 40 years.

The Northampton Crown Court on Monday pronounced the sentence on Saju Chelevalan (52) from Kannur district in Kerala.

He was convicted for strangling to death his wife Anju Ashok and their two minor children on December 15, 2022.

"While you were squeezing the life out of your wife, your young children were screaming for their mummy," the BBC quoted the judge.

Anju from Vaikom in Kerala's Kottayam district had been working as an NHS nurse. She had died on the scene while their children were pronounced dead at a hospital. They had all succumbed to asphyxiation. The murders came to light after Anju did not turn up for duty.