Kochi: As the police delve deeper into the deaths of a family of five in Kochi’s Vaduthala on Saturday, haunting new details have emerged suggesting the act of committing suicide was meticulously planned. When 20-year-old Salman, the son of the house owner’s brother Abdul Salam, peered through the misty glass drawing-room door on Saturday morning, he was met with a sight that will likely haunt him forever.

Inside the rented “Marakkar Villa”, the air conditioner was still humming, but through the fogged glass, Salman saw two figures hanging from the ceiling.

“He was completely shocked. In fact, he is still in shock. He immediately called me and I went there and alerted the local ward councillor Albert and the police,” said Salman’s father, Abdul Salam, who manages the property for his brother Mohammad Shafi, currently residing abroad.

The deceased, Sreekumari (58), her daughter Aswathy Nair (36), and Aswathy’s children Karnivan (14), Keerthivan (5), and Akshitha (2), were found in a state that suggests they were prepared for a final, solemn occasion.

In a room where the AC was still functioning, the two younger children were found dead on a bed, covered with blankets. Most disturbingly, they were fully dressed in formal attire and even wore fancy sunglasses. Their older brother, Karnivan, was found in another room on a shawl spread across the floor, dressed in a Sherwani-style formal outfit.

“Even the grandmother, Sreekumari, was found wearing a formal saree. Only Aswathy was wearing a casual maxi. However, a formal saree was kept near the place where her body was found. It was very shocking and strange to see all of them in that condition. The bodies were already in a decomposing state,” said Albert, the Pachalam division councillor.

The police recovered a suicide note written by Aswathy Nair, which points to a tragic history of domestic distress. Aswathy’s husband, who suffered from alcohol-related liver disease, had died by suicide in August last year. According to police sources, the note suggests that her husband’s family had subsequently begun blaming her for his death.

“Aswathy was reportedly depressed over her husband's death and had been planning this for some time. In the note, it is said that they are 'going with him',” a senior police officer said.

The investigation also revealed that approximately a month after her husband’s death, Aswathy had prepared a will. The document stated that in the event of her and her children’s deaths, their assets should be transferred to one ‘Providence Home’. “We are trying to get more clarity about all these,” the officer said.

The family, originally from Vilappilshala in Thiruvananthapuram, had moved into the posh Vaduthala residence two months ago under the pretext of seeking medical treatment at a private hospital. They have paid the full rent amount and were supposed to vacate on Friday, March 20. However, since there was no news from the family on Friday, Salman went to collect the keys but found the gate was locked from outside. Since he saw their clothes hanging out to dry in the courtyard, he returned home assuming that they might have gone outside. But on Saturday, when he came back again, the situation was the same and he entered the compound through another gate and noticed the air-conditioner in the house on.

“There was no sign of anyone inside. So he decided to use the spare key and enter the house to switch off the AC to prevent any fire or short circuit due to overheating. That’s when he found the bodies,” Salmans said.

Meanwhile, neighbours and the caretaker described their lifestyle as strangely isolated.

“It seems they have not cooked anything at all at the house and ordered food online. The kitchen was found littered with used hotel food containers and used diapers dumped carelessly, suggesting a complete withdrawal from normal domestic life,” Abdul Salam said.

Evidence at the scene further indicated the family’s desperation. The police found a long piece of cloth hooked to a fan in the main hall that had been cut, leading them to believe one of the victims may have initially attempted the act there before moving to another room.

While authorities suspect the children were poisoned before the adults took their own lives, a final cause of death will only be confirmed following post-mortem examinations. All five bodies have been moved to the Ernakulam Medical College mortuary after completing the inquest which continued till Saturday evening. A case of unnatural death has been registered, and police are awaiting the arrival of relatives from Thiruvananthapuram to gain further clarity on the family's internal struggles.