Husband appears in court charged with murdering Anju Asok and their two children in Kettering

• Stuart Leithes reports from the hearing at Wellingborough Magistrates' Court.

A father has appeared in court charged with the murder of his wife and their two young children in Kettering.

Anju Asok, who was 35, her six-year-old son Jeeva Saju and her four-year-old daughter Janvi Saju - were found seriously injured at a property in Petherton Court last Thursday.

Ms Asok had been working as a staff nurse at Kettering General Hospital since last year.

She died at the scene and her two children were later pronounced dead in hospital.

Northamptonshire Police said a post-mortem examination revealed all three had died as a result of asphyxiation.

On Monday morning, Saju Chelavalel, 52, appeared before magistrates in Wellingborough charged with three counts of murder.

Mr Chelavalel - who has black hair and wore glasses and a grey sweatshirt - spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.

The court heard that he speaks a South Indian dialect called Malayalam - but he was happy for the hearing to proceed in English.

The prosecutor didn’t outline any details of the case during the hearing which only lasted around two minutes.

Magistrate Neil Shepperd told him: "This matter is going to be remanded to the crown court. The hearing will be on December 21 at Northampton. In the meantime, you will be remanded in custody."

Mr Chelavalel was remanded in custody to appear at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday morning (Dec 21).

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