Couple found dead at rented house in Ponkunnam

A couple was found dead at their rented house in Kottayam on Monday (March 9, 2026), the police said.

The deceased, Sajan Joseph and his wife, Anusha Joseph, were natives of Mannar in Alappuzha district and had been residing in a rented house at Chirakkadavu in Ponkunnam.

The police said the couple was living on the upper floor of the house along with their three-year-old child.

The incident came to light when the house owner, who lives on the ground floor, noticed the couple’s child crying around 10 a.m.

As there was no response when he knocked on the door, he broke into the room and found the couple lying dead in a pool of blood, officers said.

The Ponkunnam police reached the house and began an investigation. Officials suspect it to be a case of suicide as all the doors were found locked from inside with no signs of forced entry.

The police said the child was later handed over to relatives.

Relatives told the police that the couple was under severe financial strain and had moved from Mannar to Ponkunnam, the officers said.

The Ponkunnam police have registered a case of unnatural death in connection with the incident. The bodies were handed over to relatives after a post-mortem examination, the police said.

(Suicide Prevention Helpline: DISHA – 1056)