A 17-year-old boy is in custody on murder charges after his mother and 14-year-old brother were discovered dead in apparent killings in the family’s Acton, Massachusetts, home, the district attorney said, calling it a “unspeakable tragedy.”
Arjun Aravind was caught in Wayland, Massachusetts, on Wednesday morning after reportedly fleeing the scene in Acton on Tuesday in his mother’s car, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced.
On Tuesday evening, Aravind’s father called police to request a well-being check at his family’s home, saying that a tutor was unable to get access and that he could not reach anyone inside, Ryan said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Responding officers discovered Aravind’s mother, Sudha Venkatesan, and 14-year-old brother, Siddharth Aravind, suffering from “obvious trauma,” Ryan said, adding that their causes of death have yet to be established. According to the DA, Siddharth Aravind was located on the first floor, while his mother was recovered in the basement.
Prosecutors stated in court Thursday that there were “obvious signs of a physical and violent struggle” at the home, and that the victims had suffered “blunt-force trauma.”
Aravind allegedly engaged in “some concerning behavior, including using the internet and ChatGPT” to conduct searches “regarding the killing of his family,” Ryan stated.
He allegedly used ChatGPT “in creating fantasies, stories, kind of the gothic novel kind of stories, asking questions, creating characters” in what “seemed to appear to relate to threats to his family,” Ryan said.
The specific times of the crimes are unclear, according to the DA. Venkatesan was last seen alive when her husband left the residence at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Ryan said. Siddharth Aravind went to a recreational facility at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and returned home just after noon, she added.
Arjun Aravind is charged with two charges of murder, two counts of assault and battery on a household or family member, two counts of assault and battery, use of a vehicle without authority, and theft of a motor vehicle, according to the district attorney.
He was scheduled to be arraigned in Lowell Juvenile Court on Wednesday. Because Juvenile Court has no jurisdiction over murder, he was arraigned in Concord District Court on Thursday for murder and related assault counts, according to the DA.
Arjun Aravind pled not guilty when he appeared in Concord District Court on Thursday morning.
He was kept without bail and will have his mental health evaluated.
The adolescent is scheduled to return to court on September 11 for a probable cause hearing.
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