A 52-year-old man has admitted killing an NHS nurse and her two young children.

Saju Chelavalel pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday to the murders of Anju Ashok, 35, six-year-old Jeeva Saju and Janvi Saju, aged four.

All three died after being found with serious injuries at a property in Petherton Court, Kettering, Northamptonshire, on 15 December last year.

Assisted by an interpreter in the dock, Chelavalel answered “guilty” to two of the counts he faced.

In relation to the charge of murdering Jeeva, he replied: “I don’t know what happened to the children, but I plead guilty.”

Judge David Herbert KC adjourned the case until 3 July.

He told Chelavalel: “There can only be one sentence in law, namely a life sentence, but the judge dealing with your case on that day will have to set the appropriate minimum term.”

Ms Ashok was a staff nurse at Kettering General Hospital and the hospital’s chief executive Deborah Needham described her as “a committed and compassionate staff nurse, who was loved and respected by her dear friends and colleagues”.

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