Who was Alice Priyanka? Malayali Woman and Children Killed

Alice Priyanka Benziger was an Indian-American woman shot dead by her husband, Anand Henry, who also murdered their two children.

The staggering story of Alice Priyanka and Anand Sujith Henry has stolen the imagination of the world.

A beautiful Malayali Indian couple who had seemingly created a beautiful life in the States were found dead – all four killed in their beautiful San Mateo home.

Law enforcement has now branded it a murder-suicide, raising the fascination with the story to higher levels.

In this article, we take a look at the wife in this story, Alice Priyanka and break down her life.

Let’s dive in!

Who was Alice Priyanka?

Alice Priyanka, also known as Alice Benziger, was a 40-year-old Indian-American woman who lived in San Mateo, California.

She was born and raised in Kerala, India, and belonged to a prominent Catholic family.

Her father, Joseph Benziger, was a former director of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, and her mother, Mary Benziger, was a retired professor of English. Alice had two sisters, Anu and Anju, who are both settled in the US.

According to LinkedIn, Alice Priyanka Benziger was a Manager of Data Science at the Zillow Group at the time of her death.

She had schooled at the University of San Francisco for her Master’s Degree in between 2014/15.

Prior to that, she studied at the Carnegie Mellon University – Tepper School of Business where she received her degree in Computational Finance.

Alice Priyanka earlier graduated from the TKM College in India and the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Her other positions aside from Zllow include Senior Qualitative analyst at Change.org, Data Scientist at Idibon and Dictionary.Com and a Financial Engineer, Equity Derivatives at Murex.

Alice Priyanka married Anand Sujith Henry, a 42-year-old software engineer, in 2013.

They had a traditional Christian wedding in Kerala, attended by their families and friends.

They moved to the US shortly after their marriage and settled in San Mateo, where they bought a $2.1 million mansion in 2019.

Anand was a former software engineering manager at Meta and Google. He left his job at Meta in June 2020 and founded his own artificial intelligence company, Logits, in San Mateo. He was also an avid photographer and a music enthusiast.

Alice and Anand had twin sons, Noah and Neithan, who were four years old.

They attended a nearby preschool and were loved by their teachers and classmates. They were also active in their church and community.

According to their neighbors, Alice and Anand seemed like a happy and friendly couple who often hosted parties and socialized with others. They never saw any signs of trouble or conflict in their relationship.

However, according to court records, Anand filed for divorce from Alice in December 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. He also sought joint custody of their children and spousal support. The divorce case was still pending at the time of their deaths.

On Monday, February 12, 2024, Alice Priyanka and her family were found dead inside their home in San Mateo.

The police were called to the house around 9:15 am by a concerned relative who had not heard from them for a while. The police entered the house through an unlocked window and discovered the horrific scene.

Once inside, they found the bodies of Alice and Anand in a bathroom, both with gunshot wounds to their heads. A 9mm pistol and a loaded magazine were also found in the bathroom.

The police believe that Anand shot Alice and then himself in an apparent murder-suicide.

The police also found the bodies of Noah and Neithan in a bedroom, with no visible signs of trauma.

Authorities suspect that Anand killed his sons by smothering, strangling, or giving them a lethal overdose before shooting his wife and himself.

The exact cause of death of the children is still under investigation.

The police found no evidence of gas leakage or malfunctioning appliances in the house, ruling out the possibility of accidental deaths.

The police also found no note or message left by the killer, leaving the motive unclear.

Who was Alice Priyanka husband Anand Sujith Henry?

Anand Sujit Henry was a 42-year-old software engineer and entrepreneur who lived in a $2.1 million home in San Mateo with his wife Alice Priyanka, a 40-year-old data scientist, and their 4-year-old twin boys Noah and Neithan.

On February 13, 2024, he allegedly shot and killed his wife and sons in their bedroom and then shot himself in the bathroom, in what the police believe to be a murder-suicide.

Education and career

Anand Sujit Henry was born in Kerala, India, and moved to the United States in 2015.

He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering in 2004, and from Stanford University with a master’s degree in computer science in 2007.

He worked as a software engineering manager at Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) for several years, before leaving Meta in June 2020 to start his own artificial intelligence company, Logits.

Logits specialized in providing enterprises with the means to privately train and serve generative AI models for specific business needs.

He was described by his colleagues and friends as a friendly, hardworking, and talented professional who had a passion for AI and innovation.

Anand Sujit Henry LinkedIn account revealed his career trajectory.

In his bio, he described himself as “Co-founder of Logits. Formerly Google, Meta, Salesforce, CMU,”

He listed his education as Carnegie Mellon University and Singapore Management University.

Work experience on Anand Sujit Henry’s Linkedin includes software engineer at Google, Eventbrite and Salesforce.com and Software Engineering manager at Meta.

Reaction to San Mateo deaths and similar tragedies

The San Mateo Police Department (SMPD) issued a statement on Facebook, confirming that the killer was among the deceased and that there was no danger to the public.

The SMPD said that they were working to gather evidence, speak to witnesses and family members, and determine a possible motive.

The SMPD also expressed their condolences to the family and friends of the victims and offered support and resources to anyone affected by the tragedy.

The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office conducted autopsies on the bodies and released their names to the public. The coroner’s office also said that they were waiting for toxicology and forensic reports to confirm the cause and manner of death of the victims.

The Indian Consulate in San Francisco also issued a statement, saying that they were in touch with the family of Alice and Anand in India and the US, and that they were providing consular assistance and facilitating the repatriation of the bodies.

The consulate also expressed their shock and grief over the incident and urged the Indian community to stay united and support each other.

The incident also drew reactions from various public officials and community leaders, who condemned the violence and offered their sympathy and prayers to the bereaved family.

Some of them also called for more awareness and action on the issues of domestic violence and mental health, which may have played a role in the tragedy.

Aside the Alice Priyanka tragedy where she and her kids were killed by her husband, we have compiled similar instances of women and children killed by their husbands in apparent murder-suicides in the U.S.A within the past few years:

In March 2023, a Massachusetts man shot and killed his wife and their three children—an 11-year-old girl and 9-year-old twins—before turning the gun on himself, authorities said. The family of five was found dead in its Abington, Mass. home.

In December 2022, a social media influencer named Theresa Cachuela was fatally shot by her estranged husband in a murder-suicide, as her young daughter looked on, just days after a judge granted Cachuela a restraining order against him. Cachuela had more than 20,000 Instagram followers and was known as “Bunny Bontiti”.

In October 2022, a Texas man killed his wife and their four children—ages 11, 9, 4 and 7 months—before shooting himself, police said. The family was found dead in their home in Spring, Texas, after a welfare check. The motive for the killings was unknown.

In July 2022, a Florida man shot and killed his wife and their 8-year-old son before setting their house on fire and killing himself, authorities said. The man also shot and wounded his 11-year-old daughter, who managed to escape and call 911. The family was reportedly going through a divorce.

These are just some of the tragic cases of murder-suicides involving women and children in the U.S.A.

According to a study by the Violence Policy Center, some 1,200 Americans die in such incidents each year, and the vast majority of them involve a male perpetrator using a firearm, most frequently against an intimate partner.

This shows that murder-suicides are a serious domestic violence and gun control issue that needs more attention and action.

Whilst these tragedies are very difficult to comprehend and prevent, but there are some possible lessons we can learn from them, such as:

We need to better understand the risk factors and warning signs of homicide-suicide, and how they may differ from homicide-only or suicide-only cases1. This may help us identify and intervene with potential perpetrators before they act on their violent impulses.

We need to improve the access and quality of mental health services and support for people who may be struggling with personal, relational, or social problems that could lead to homicide-suicide.

This may include providing more counseling, therapy, medication, or crisis intervention for those who need it.

We need to address the underlying issues of domestic violence, gun control, and social inequality that may contribute to homicide-suicide.

This may include strengthening the laws and policies that protect victims of abuse, regulate the ownership and use of firearms, and promote social justice and human rights for all.

We need to foster a culture of compassion, empathy, and resilience that can help prevent homicide-suicide4. This may include educating the public about suicide prevention and mental health awareness, reducing the stigma and shame associated with seeking help, and supporting the survivors and bereaved families of homicide-suicide.

San Mateo

San Mateo (Spanish for ‘Saint Matthew’) is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula.

About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster City to the east and Belmont to the south. The population was 105,661 at the 2020 census.

San Mateo has a Mediterranean climate and is known for its rich history at the center of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Some of the biggest economic drivers for the city include technology, health care and education.

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