Wealthy Indian-origin couple, daughter found dead in US

New York/New Delhi: A wealthy Indian-origin couple and their teen daughter were found dead in their mansion at one of the poshest enclaves in US' Massachusetts. Rakesh Kamal, 57, his wife Teena, 54, and their 18-year-old daughter Ariana were found dead on Thursday evening, Norfolk District Attorney (DA) Michael Morrissey said.

Authorities say that a preliminary investigation points to a "deadly incident of domestic violence" with no outside involvement.

The Kamal family, originally from India, had established themselves within the tech industry in the United States, and used to run an education systems company called EduNova. The company is now defunct.

Rakesh Kamal, an alumnus of Boston University, the MIT Sloan School of Management, and Stanford University, had an extensive career in education consulting and launched an Ed-tech company ‘EduNova’ with his wife in 2016.

EduNova marketed a 'student success system' designed to improve the grades of students in middle school, high school, and college," The Boston Globe newspaper reported. The company initially performed well resulting in the Kamals purchasing the 19,000-square-foot estate – which boasts 11 bedrooms – for $4 million in 2019, according to state records. But the company was dissolved in December 2021, the records show. This was the start of a financial crisis for the couple, who used to go around as Rick and Teena. Their sprawling mansion went into foreclosure a year ago and was sold to the Massachusetts-based Wilsondale Associates LLC for $3 million. The estate was estimated to be worth $5.45 million when it was sold.

Teena Kamal, an alumna of Harvard University and Delhi University in India, also filed for bankruptcy in September 2022, further highlighting the financial distress that the couple was under.

Cops received a call at 7.24 pm on Thursday evening from a relative of the Kamal family who had come to check on them after not hearing from them for days.

The three members of the Kamal family were the only ones living in the mansion at the time, officials said, adding that the area, one of the richest in the state, was "a nice neighbourhood, a safe community."

The bodies of Rakesh, Teena, and Ariana were found inside the house when police arrived at the spot. The Norfolk District Attorney said that they will be able to give a definitive motive into the "terrible tragedy" and a probe is still on to figure out what happened. He said that only after the medical examiner's ruling will they be able to decide whether to refer to the incident as a suicide or a murder.

But he said that a gun was found near Rakesh Kamal's body. "All I can tell you is there was a gun on the premises, and it was apparent to all those that went in that all three members of the family were dead," Morrissey said.

The 18-year-old Ariana was a student at Middlebury College, a $64,800-a-year private liberal arts school in Vermont, where she was studying neuroscience, according to her LinkedIn.

Her school, Milton Academy, in a statement, said that Ariana was a sweet, smart, and kind young woman who was "just beginning to realise her full potential".

Officials said a homicide has not been reported in Dover since 2020 and this was a very shocking incident. "It's very rare to have this kind of a violence situation almost in any community in Norfolk County, but particularly Dover," Morrissey said. "It's a small, well-run community, but like everybody else, there are problems out there that can affect no matter where you live."