Team Herald
CALANGUTE: Entire Goa has been jolted with the shocking double-murder of two young siblings in Candolim allegedly by their father on Saturday, who later reportedly died by suicide.
The father, Joy Fernandes was well-known in ‘tiatr’ circles having worked in the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG). He had contested the Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections around seven years ago and was also doing catering.
He is suspected to have murdered his children on Saturday afternoon-evening. The two, a daughter aged 14, and a son aged eight, were found dead by the mother and neighbours at around 10 pm on Saturday.
The husband could not be found throughout Saturday night and Sunday early morning, but was found dead on Sunday morning behind the house located close to the Nerul river. He is suspected to have committed suicide by hanging.
“What triggered this murder-suicide is still under investigation and for us to draw any conclusions at this juncture are not proper. Based on forensic findings and evidence available, we will come to some conclusion as to what happened. Right now we’ve registered a case of unnatural death, but it’s as good as an investigation of a murder case. It’s very tragic,” Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Bosco George said when he visited the site on Sunday morning.
North SP Nidhin Valsan visited the spot late Saturday night. Calangute PI Dattaguru Sawant was present.
According to the police and family members, Joy and the two children were last seen around 2.30 pm on Saturday when his wife, a teacher in a high school at Merces, went for the nuptials of a neighbour to the Candolim church, a short distance away, at 3 pm. The wife returned to the house at around 5 pm and found it locked.
As the son’s first communion was next Sunday, she thought her husband and son may have gone for catechism class at St Theresa’s school located next to the Candolim church, and went there but could not find them. She came back to the house and waited in the gallery. Most of the neighbours had gone for the wedding reception at Penha de Franca.
After waiting till around 9 pm, and with no sign of the husband or children and the air-conditioners inside full-on, the wife got alarmed and called some neighbours who broke open a grill door at the back around 10 pm and found the two children dead in the room where they used to sleep.
They were rushed to the Candolim primary health centre where they were declared brought dead. The bodies were shifted to the GMC Bambolim for post-mortem.
The police who were informed just after 10 pm rushed to the spot. A forensic team also reached the spot along with SP Nidhin Valsan, Calangute PI Dattaguru Sawant and others. A massive search was launched for the husband, but he was untraceable.
In the morning when one of the family members saw Joy in the midst of bushes and trees behind the house and called out to him. Getting no response, they went towards him and realised that he was hanging from a tree. He is suspected to have committed suicide.
Police rushed to the spot again and with the help of the Pilerne Fire Station personnel retrieved the body and shifted it to the GMC, Bambolim for post-mortem.
Former Goa Assembly Speaker and former Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG) president Tomazinho Cardozo visited the house on Sunday morning and expressed shock at the tragedy.
“Joy was a very good person, active and very influential with great contact with politicians and church authorities. He was also a social worker and had a very helpful nature,” he said.
In October 2019, Joy was unanimously elected as the President of Jagotik Konkani Songhotton (JKS), Mengaluru. His term ended in 2021.
SP Nidhin Vasan said that prima facie it was a case of suicide. However, based on
forensic examination reports, the police will take further legal action.
