Police investigating the deaths of a mother and her three children in Lahore’s Valencia Town say the case remains complex, as investigators continue examining multiple lines of inquiry after recording a statement from the children’s father.
According to police, the father, Nasir, said his wife had been suffering from mental health problems for the past three years and had stopped taking her prescribed medication about six months ago.
Nasir told investigators that he returned home with groceries and asked his wife where the children were. He said she told him they had gone to watch a film with a woman named Fatima.
He said he questioned why the children had gone without him and that his wife then urged him to eat ice cream, saying he had not eaten anything since the morning.
According to his statement, while the couple were arguing, there was a knock at the door. Neighbours informed him that the children were lying in the rear courtyard of the house.
Nasir said he found all three children dead. He added that his wife’s condition subsequently deteriorated and she was taken to a nearby hospital.
He told police he suspected that, because of her mental state, she may have mixed an unknown substance into ice cream given to the children.
Police, however, stressed that the investigation remains ongoing and that no conclusion has yet been reached regarding the cause of the deaths.
Investigators said the family hailed from Pasrur in Sialkot district, and have also contacted the woman’s relatives living in the United States and Canada as part of the inquiry.
According to police, a female domestic worker employed by a neighbour was the first to discover the children’s bodies in the rear courtyard and alert others.
Police and forensic teams have re-examined the bodies to determine whether the children were exposed to a toxic substance.
Authorities said the investigation is being conducted thoroughly and that the facts surrounding the incident will be established once forensic and investigative processes are complete.