Massachusetts teen held without bail, psychiatric evaluation to take place, after murder of mother and brother

ACTON – A Massachusetts teen was held without bail Thursday in a double murder.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Acton Police Chief Douglas Sturniolo announced Wednesday that Arjun Aravind, 17 of Acton, had been charged with two counts 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 in connection with the deaths of his brother, 14-year-old Siddharth Aravind, and his mother, 45-year-old Sudha Venkatesan, that occurred Tuesday inside their Martha Lane home in Acton.

On Tuesday, shortly after 6:30 p.m., Acton Police received a call from Arjun’s father who had been unable to reach his family members and reported that a tutor who was expected at the home was unable to make contact with residents upon arrival. He had last had contact with his wife, Sudha, was early that morning before he left for work. His son, Siddharth, was last seen around noon.

Upon arrival at the home, police located the two victims dead inside.  Siddharth was located on the first floor and Sudha was located in the finished basement.

Police determined that Arjun was not in the home and that he had allegedly fled using his mother’s vehicle, a 2014 Green Honda Accord.  

Investigators attempted to located Arjun but were not immediately successful and notified law enforcement and members of the public to be on the lookout. Early Wednesday morning, police in Wayland, responding to an unrelated alarm call in a parking lot on Andrew Avenue, located the suspect vehicle with Arjun inside.  Arjun was taken into custody by police without incident.

The subsequent investigation indicates that Arjun had recently been demonstrating concerning behavior including using the internet and Chat GPT to make searches including for theoretical ideas or fantasies regarding killing his family.

It is alleged that Arjun fatally assaulted his mother and brother inside their home yesterday before fleeing the scene.

While both victims were suffering from obvious trauma,  the exact cause and manner is still pending from the Chief Medical Examiner.

What weapon or weapons were used is still actively under investigation.

Arjun Aravind was arraigned in Lowell Juvenile Court Wednesday morning.  As Juvenile Court does not have jurisdiction over the charge of murder, Arjun Aravind was arraigned on that charge and the related assault charges in Concord District Court on Thursday.

Court records show that he pled not guilty and was held without bail. A psychiatric evaluation will take place, and a probable cause hearing was scheduled for September 11th.

Sudha Venkatesan was reportedly a Software Development Manager for Amazon.

This remains an active and ongoing investigation being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Acton Police and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the District Attorney’s Office.  Police from Harvard, Littleton, Lincoln, Maynard, Sudbury, Wayland, Westford and Weston also assisted with the investigation.