A SCHOOLBOY could hold a vital clue to the terrible events that led to the murders of his mother, his young brother and the suicide of his father.Ani Chiti, aged 11, was in the family home on Saturday night when his mother, Anupama Chiti, 36, was stabbed to death.

By Richard Smith

A SCHOOLBOY could hold a vital clue to the terrible events that led to the murders of his mother, his young brother and the suicide of his father.

Ani Chiti, aged 11, was in the family home on Saturday night when his mother, Anupama Chiti, 36, was stabbed to death.

The boy, a pupil at The Abbey school in Woodbridge, remains traumatised after the triple deaths and police officers are waiting patiently before allowing him to be interviewed by specialist staff.

Det Supt Roy Lambert, who is heading the police investigation, said: ''The 11-year-old is a potential witness and he will be interviewed, if it is appropriate, by specialist officers.

"At the moment we are concerned for his welfare and we have not yet had an opportunity to interview him about what he saw or heard.''

Officers were unable to say yesterday what time Mrs Chiti died but she was found in one bedroom while Ani was found in another bedroom in the home in Seckford Close, Rushmere St Andrew.

A knife, believed to have been wielded by her husband Jaya Prakash Chiti, 41, was used to kill her. The boy was left alone in the house while his father drove off with the toddler.

It was a wet night with strong winds and neighbours in the suburb of Ipswich did not hear anything suspicious.

Then Suffolk police received a call at 3.45am on Sunday to alert officers to a stationary car on the Orwell Bridge. The vehicle's hazard lights were flashing and it was parked about half-way along the bridge.

Officers and the coastguard searched the area under the Orwell Bridge, the scene of several suicide jumps in recent years, and they found the boy and his father apart from each other on the land.

Det Supt Lambert said: ''At the time the water was coming in and they were found near the water's edge.

"A post mortem confirmed that the male and the young boy died as a result of multiple injuries consistent with a fall.''

Det Supt Lambert said it was ''impossible to make a judgement'' on whether the father had thrown himself off the bridge while clutching his young son.

''At the moment we have no way of knowing exactly what happened on the bridge, whether the man jumped or fell, holding the child, or not.

''What we believe happened at the moment is that the man killed his wife by stabbing her to death and then went over the bridge with his two-year-old son,'' he said.

When officers traced the address of the registered owner of the car they found the body of Mrs Chiti at Amberley House, Seckford Close.

Det Supt Lambert did not disclose whether a suicide note had been found and he added that officers still needed to make many more inquiries.

Up to 12 officers are working on the investigation and more will be drafted in if required.

Det Supt Lambert said: ''Officers will go anywhere to find evidence to try and interpret what has happened in this tragic incident.

''We have done a lot of house-to-house inquiries - they have not been completed. They did work and live in Nottingham for a period and moved here about June last year.

''They have relatives all over the country and we are awaiting a meeting with the other members of the family and hope to see them today.''

He said that there was no record of police officers having to make visits to the house in Seckford Close before the weekend's events.

Police have recovered a number of knifes and implements from the house for examination.