Mother's Haunting Account of Husband's Call After Killing Their Sons
Kathleen Chada has courageously spoken out about the chilling phone call she received from her husband Sanjeev after he brutally murdered their two young sons, Eoghan, 10, and Ruairí, 5, in Ireland back in 2013. Her harrowing testimony comes as Sanjeev Chada now makes a bid for parole, seeking freedom merely 13 years after committing the appalling crimes that shattered their family forever.
The Devastating Phone Call That Changed Everything
Kathleen has shared the exact words that still haunt her to this day. "'They are dead in the back' are the words he used," she revealed during an emotional interview with Virgin Media News. "They are imprinted on my mind. I answered the phone - it was him."
She described being with a detective at the time, giving her statement about her missing husband and children. When the unknown number appeared on her phone, she immediately knew it was Sanjeev. "My first words were 'are you okay, where are you?' He told me there had been a crash and I said 'are the boys ok' and he said 'no, they are dead in the back.'"
The mother recalled losing control at that moment. "I know that I screamed," she said. The detective took the phone from her as she struggled to comprehend what she had just heard.
The Horrific Events of July 29, 2013
Sanjeev Chada, a stay-at-home father living in County Carlow, was supposed to take Eoghan and Ruairí bowling that fateful day. Instead, he drove across the country to a remote lane in Ballintubber, County Mayo. Kathleen frantically attempted to contact him throughout the night, with family members spending hours searching in their cars.
In the morning, the unimaginable occurred. Sanjeev strangled both boys, placed their bodies in the boot of his car, and then deliberately crashed into a wall in what appeared to be a failed murder-suicide attempt. Miraculously, he survived the crash while his sons did not.
Kathleen described the moment the devastating truth became undeniable. "I could see him coming in the front door and I could tell by his face — and he walked over to me and he shook his head and I knew."
Facing the Parole Board and Ongoing Fears
Kathleen has since appeared before the Parole Board, expressing her deepest fears about Sanjeev potentially being released. She believes it is insufficient for the board to simply know what he did — they need to understand exactly how he carried out the brutal murders.
She revealed that Eoghan's injuries were particularly horrific, with several broken bones indicating a catastrophic assault. The evidence suggested that the 10-year-old had fought desperately to protect his younger brother during what must have been a terrifying ordeal.
"My greatest fear is that he will eventually walk free from prison to 'finish the job'," Kathleen confessed. She believes this would mean killing her before ending his own life, completing the murder-suicide plan that failed in 2013.
The Shocking Discovery of Premeditation
In a chilling revelation, Kathleen subsequently discovered an email Sanjeev had sent to himself 18 months before the murders. In this message, he detailed his wish to kill his wife and children — a plan he would tragically execute against their sons.
This discovery came after Kathleen learned that Sanjeev had stolen €56,000 from a local community group to finance his stock market ventures. Despite this shocking revelation, she remained loyal, assuring him they would work through their problems together. Tragically, just 10 days later, their sons were dead.
Complicated Emotions and Moving Forward
Kathleen described the complex emotions she still experiences regarding the man she once loved. "I can't undo that part of it. I can't cut him out of life because he was their father. He was Eoghan and Ruairí's dad and he was my husband. I loved him. I absolutely loved him. I thought he was my soulmate."
She added, "I thought he was the person I was going to grow old with. I certainly never saw anything like this inside of him. We had, I would have thought, a happy marriage."
Despite the trauma, Kathleen has worked to preserve the good memories. "I've moved away from our house now, I sold it, but I kept a family photograph there for a long time, right up until the time I moved out because we were a happy family," she explained.
"The memories, and the good memories, and happy memories are what sustain me now going forward because they have to. I don't have a choice in that. But as I say, to cut him out of that would be to cut Eoghan and Ruairí out. They were a part of him, but they're also a part of me, and I have to remember that as well."
Sanjeev Chada now resides in Dublin's Arbour Hill Prison as he pursues his parole application, while Kathleen continues to advocate for justice and share her story through her memoir titled "Everything."
