The two bodies found in a house in Texas were on Friday identified as those of the parents of a 10-year-old Indian-origin boy who was found dead in a bathtub in January, a death for which the mother was charged with murder.
The medical examiner confirmed that the bodies found on Wednesday are those of Sumeet Dhawan, 43, and Pallavi Dhawan, 39, police in the US city of Frisco said in a statement.
The police announced the Texas Rangers are now assisting in their investigation into the two deaths. The relatives became concerned after they didn’t hear back from Sumeet for several days, a family friend said. Thus, Sumeet’s brother and the brother’s friend went to the Dhawans’ house on Wednesday.
They discovered a woman’s body in the backyard pool, and called 911. After the police arrived, they found a man’s body inside the house. On Thursday, detectives returned to the scene to gather evidence. Relatives of the Dhawans are distraught and shocked by what happened.
The couple’s son Arnav was found dead inside a dry bathtub, covered by a cloth and surrounded by plastic bags in the family’s home on January 29.
Pallavi, who was charged with murder, told police that she was only trying to preserve the body of her son, who had died four days earlier in his sleep, until Sumeet returned home from a business trip in India.
However, when Sumeet returned home from India, Pallavi did not tell him what happened. He learned of his son’s death at the same time police did -- when they broke down the bathroom door and found him inside the tub. The couple claimed that the boy had died of natural causes and, in their culture, the father must deliver a final blessing.
Pallavi had claimed that her son suffered from microcephaly, which causes an abnormally small head and can lead to a shortened lifespan. Arnav’s autopsy was inconclusive and the medical examiner said he died of undetermined causes, likely of a seizure.
Pallavi was charged for the murder of Arnav. A grand jury had just begun to hear the case, with Sumeet providing testimony last week. Dhawan’s criminal attorney, David Finn, is now in the process of helping the couple’s relatives arrange for their bodies to be returned to India.
