Karachi man slaughters wife, three daughters, say police

• Injured man suspected murderer.
• Victims found dead are aged 38, 16, 12, and 10.
• Police recover a knife from crime scene.

KARACHI: A man, likely in his forties, allegedly killed his wife and three daughters with a sharp-edged tool in Karachi's Shamsi Society, before trying to unsuccessfully stab himself to death, police said Tuesday.

The suspect remains critically injured in a hospital, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Korangi Sajid Sadozai. He added that the victims were tenants of the house where the crime was perpetrated.

Police confirmed they found bloodied bodies of one older woman, 38, and three girls, 16, 12, and 10 in the house.

The victims were killed with a sharp-edged tool, he noted. The survivor, identified as Fawad, is the husband of the older woman and the father of the murdered girls.

According to police, Fawad, is the prime suspect in the murders.

“The suspect, a sales manager at a private spice-selling company by profession, tried to commit suicide after killing his wife and daughters,” the police official said.

The SSP Korangi said the house was locked from the inside after the murders, “which indicates the suspect was behind the killings”.

Police have recovered a knife from the crime scene, as per SSP Korangi. The Crime Scene Unit has reached the murder site to collect evidence. The investigators are also recording statements from neighbours and other residents in the vicinity.

According to SSP Korangi, the incident is an internal matter of the family. He claimed that the suspect first killed his daughters and later his wife.

He added that the police had to break into the house to get to the bodies and the injured man. Sadozai further said that while Fawad’s family lived on the first floor, his brother resided on the building’s second floor.

‘Wife misbehaved with me'

In his initial statement to the police, suspect Fawad said he was depressed due to financial issues and was tired of explaining things to his wife.

“My eldest daughter started crying because of the fight. She said that our quarrels bothered them [the children],” he told the police, adding that his two other daughters were preparing to sleep.

Fawad further told police that his wife misbehaved with him after lunch. He confessed to killing his daughters while his wife was in the bathroom.

“I was depressed due to money and decided to kill everyone and myself,” the suspect said.

Referring to an unknown investor during his statement, Fawad said: “I sent the pictures to my investor and wrote that I ended my family. I wrote to the investor that I’m now killing myself.”

I’m sure Fawad committed murders: SSP

SSP Sadozai ruled out the possibility of someone coming into the house and murdering the victims as the family resided in a small portion of a house, which comprised two rooms and there was no entry point from the backside.

"After inspecting the house and given the circumstantial evidence, I am sure that Fawad has committed these murders," the senior police officer told Geo News.

"From one room, we found three bodies — the woman and two children — and from the other room, we found another body of a child," he said.

SSP Sadozai said that the suspect's mother and sister-in-law — who live in the portion below them — broke the door and entered their rooms. "The mother told me that she believes that Fawad has committed [the murders]."

The police officer said the mother informed the authorities that the relations between the couple had never deteriorated to such an extent that he would murder his wife, albeit, they would often fight.

SSP Sadozai said it is possible that the victims might have been drugged before being killed as given the amount of blood in the house, they should have screamed for their lives — but they didn't.

"The sister-in-law of Fawad has told police that she heard one scream of Fawad's wife." About the victims being drugged, he said that it can be confirmed once the forensic report comes in.

The police said they had yet not recorded Fawad’s statement as he was critical.

Fawad didn’t receive salary for four months: mother

Speaking to Geo News, the suspect's mother said that everything was fine until 1:30pm in the afternoon.

“The girls also went to school and college,” she said. The suspect’s mother added that she heard screams and called upstairs but no one picked up.

“When I went upstairs, the door did not open. When we shook the door hard, the hinge opened. After I went inside the girls were lying where would usually sleep. In the other room, my daughter-in-law was covered with a blanket,” she said sharing details of the incident.

Fawad’s mother added that her son and daughter-in-law had never complained about anything.

“Today, all my granddaughters met me and left for studies. When I went inside, my son Fawad was also lying injured,” the suspect mother informed.

"My son hadn’t received his salary for four months," she added.

JPMC informs suspect out of danger

A spokesperson of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) confirmed that Fawad, the main suspect, was now out of danger.

He maintained that following surgery, he has now been shifted to the ward.

In addition to this, the police, after the initial investigation, revealed that Fawad had informed his brother about his intention minutes before the incident of the brutal killing via a video call. The police added that his brother lives abroad.

The suspect’s brother, who lives abroad, telephoned his other brother, who lives in Karachi. The latter then called his wife who rushed toward Fawad’s place; however, he had already killed his wife and children before she reached there.

After examining the bodies, it seemed that her wife resisted before being killed, the police added.

Fawad’s brother-in-law also confirmed that he was not facing a financial issue and loved his wife and children.

Meanwhile, sources at the company where he worked said that there was no salary problem at the factory.

Employees were paid by 28 or 29 every month, factory sources said.