Bradford police investigate deaths of couple and two teenage daughters

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/28/bradford-police-deaths-couple-teenage-daughters

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Police in Bradford are investigating whether a father killed his wife and two daughters and then himself.

The bodies of 49-year-old Jitendra Lad, his wife, 44-year-old Duksha, and their two daughters Trisha, 19, and Nisha, 17, were found at their home in Clayton, a suburb three miles west of Bradford city centre. Police fear they had died some time ago.

They were discovered at 8.30pm on Monday by neighbours concerned that the family had not been seen for a while, West Yorkshire police said.

Both parents worked for Bradford council, it is understood. Trisha was in her second year at the University of Leeds and Nisha had just done her GCSEs.

In a statement West Yorkshire police said: “Early indications suggest the bodies may have been in the property for some time. Postmortems will now be carried out to establish the cause of the deaths.”

Det Supt Simon Atkinson, from West Yorkshire police’s protective services (crime) unit, said: “This is clearly a significant incident and our investigation will be thorough as we piece together the events that have led to the deaths of a local family.

“The investigation is at an early stage, and while I do not want to speculate around the circumstances leading to the deaths, I am happy to confirm that we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.”

Supt Damien Miller, who leads neighbourhood policing across the Bradford district, said: “Clayton is a close-knit community and I understand that local people will be understandably upset by what has taken place and I would like to reassure people there is no wider danger to members of the public.

“Additional neighbourhood officers are in the area speaking to people and offering reassurance.”

Police have sealed off the property on Blackberry Way for a forensic investigation and said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

Friends of the girls have laid flowers outside the property, with many too distressed to speak.

Jessica Garside, 18, who went to nearby Thornton grammar school with Nisha, said of her schoolfriend: “She was a lovely person. Never bitchy, never said anything bad about anybody.”

Sehaj Singh, 19, said he had known Trisha, the older daughter, for eight years and last saw her during freshers’ week at Leeds University last month. He said: “She was really nice. She was just one of those people who got on with things.” He arrived at the house on Tuesday morning after hearing the news, but kept on ringing Trisha’s mobile phone, unwilling to believe she was dead.

He said the family were of Indian origin but that the girls were born and brought up in Bradford.

David Green, leader of Bradford council, said: “Local people are shocked and saddened by the news of this terrible event and our sympathy goes out to the wider family, friends and neighbours of this family.

“The husband and wife of the family, Jitendra Lad and Duksha Lad, both worked for Bradford council and councillors and employees are very upset after hearing the dreadful news of their deaths.

“Obviously, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage as the investigation into how it happened is continuing, but we would urge anyone who may have any information about this tragedy to contact the police immediately.”