Bengaluru: Investigation into the June triple murder at Seegehalli, KR Pura, has culminated in a chilling revelation: before allegedly turning violent against his live-in partner’s family, 25-year-old techie J Kenneth allegedly used artificial intelligence (AI) to explore possible ways of attacking people. His queries included methods involving a kitchen knife, delivering fatal blows, blinding victims with vinegar and chilli powder, and incapacitating them by attacking their knees.Cops stumbled upon these details in the search history on Kenneth’s laptop, which had a disturbing pattern of AI-related searches. The questions, cops said, appeared to explore different attack scenarios and how people could be overpowered.Among the questions that surfaced in the search history were: how to fatally attack people with a kitchen knife; how to blind people using vinegar, chilli powder and chilli paste; how to shatter the knees of three people; and how to knock down three thieves who had entered a house in an isolated location.Kenneth also asked AI about the history of some of the deadliest weapons used to kill people. In another line of questioning, he sought advice on dealing with repeated calls from banks over a friend’s loan and asked how bankruptcy could be declared.For police, the sequence of questions has assumed significance because they came before Kenneth allegedly attacked his live-in partner Shwetha’s parents and sister inside their apartment on June 22. “He never asked AI what the punishment for murder would be or whether it was right to kill people who were questioning his financial inability,” a senior police officer said. “He regularly chatted with AI and treated it like a friend. He may have been academically good, but his practical knowledge and social behaviour appeared extremely poor.”Police, however, are yet to establish what answers AI provided to Kenneth. The questions were noted from the dropdown window that appeared on Google while the forensic science laboratory examined the laptop and other material.The investigation has also thrown up a striking physical detail from the crime scene: a bottle containing vinegar mixed with chilli powder. “We’ve sent it to the FSL for examination,” DCP (Whitefield division) Saidulu Adavat said.What was motive?The motive of the crime, according to the 2,085-page chargesheet filed before the city court, was rooted in money and mounting pressure on Shwetha.Shwetha, also a techie, had raised loans totalling Rs 52 lakh for Kenneth within a year. This included a Rs 30-lakh business loan, personal loans of Rs 8 lakh and Rs 6 lakh from two banks, and another Rs 8 lakh borrowed from friends, relatives, classmates and colleagues.With repayments not being made, officials of the bank that sanctioned the business loan sent a notice to Shwetha’s parents’ home. That was when the parents — Somasundar, 55, and Muthulakshmi, 50 — learnt that their daughter had borrowed a substantial amount of money, allegedly to support Kenneth. The discovery triggered a confrontation between Shwetha and her parents. Somasundar subsequently confronted Kenneth, questioning him about what he had done with the money and why the family was receiving notices over unpaid loans. Days later, on the night of June 22, the row ended in bloodshed inside their apartment at Sai Green Apartment complex in Seegehalli. Somasundar, Muthulakshmi, and their 20-year-old daughter Supriya were allegedly attacked.Somasundar, who suffered multiple injuries, managed to flee the apartment and reached the staircase. He told security personnel and others that Kenneth was attacking his wife and daughter inside. He was rushed to a private hospital but later died. Muthulakshmi and Supriya, found with multiple stab injuries, succumbed as well.In her statement recorded in court, Shwetha narrated how Kenneth allegedly attacked her parents and sister while she watched, the chargesheet says.
