San Mateo family of four identified in murder-suicide
SAN MATEO, Calif. (KRON) — Two 4-year-old twin boys were murdered by their own father in what police are calling a “horrific” murder-suicide. Their mother, identified on Thursday as Alice Priyanka Benziger, was also slain by her husband before he shot himself, police said.
The San Mateo Police Department identified the killer as 37-year-old Anand Henry. A San Mateo County Sheriff’s coroner identified the 4-year-old brothers as Nathan Henry and Noah Henry.
Police said the family of four was dead inside their house on Alameda de las Pulgas in San Mateo for nearly two days before anyone knew something was wrong.
Neighbors said the father, mother, and their young sons seemed like a happy and normal family. The twins were friendly and loved to wave at neighbors. The San Mateo Police Department confirmed that it had no prior reports of domestic violence stemming from Benziger, 38, and her husband.
SMPD wrote, “There is no history of violence at the home, and outside of the context of this incident, the San Mateo Police Department has only responded to the home since 2020 on reports of a mountain lion in the yard.”
Police said they are still attempting to establish a motive for why a married father of two would kill his entire family.
Officers were dispatched to the house at 9 a.m. Monday to check on the family’s wellbeing. Officers climbed through an unlocked window to find the twins deceased inside a bedroom, and the husband and wife dead in a bathroom.
Investigators believe that the murder-suicide happened on Saturday afternoon. Police said Anand Henry shot his wife multiple times, and killed his sons, before he used a 9mm handgun to kill himself.
A 911 caller told emergency dispatchers on Monday that they were “unable to get a hold of the family over the course of the weekend,” and that police officers should check on the family of four, according to SMPD.
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The father formerly worked as a software engineer manager at Google and Meta, and he recently created an artificial intelligence company, the San Mateo Daily Journal reported. Benziger was employed by Zillow as a data science manager, the Journal reported.
A spokesperson for the coroner’s office said Nathan and Noah’s cause of death would not be released Thursday.
SMPD wrote, “At this time, next of kin have been notified and we can now confirm the identities as Anand Henry (father), Alice Benziger (mother), and their twin boys. Our investigation shows Benziger succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds, while Henry suffered from a single shot. The cause of death for the minor boys is still pending pathology, but we can confirm they did not die from gunfire or show signs of bodily trauma.”
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Neighbors who live on the quiet street told KRON4 that the incident was shocking.
“While we can’t undo this horrific incident, we would like to share with our community both domestic violence and mental health resources, because there is help and/or assistance out there, and something like this does not need to happen again,” the police department wrote.
CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse)
24-hour hotline 1(800)300-1080, www.corasupport.org
San Mateo County Health-Mental Health Services
24/7 assistance 1(800)686-0101, www.smchealth.org/mental-health-services
StarVista
24/7 Crisis Hotline (650)579-0350, www.star-vista.org/programs/crisis-center
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Call or text 988 for help
911
San Mateo residents can also utilize Text to 911 if they find themselves unable to verbally make a call to police. Simply text 911 with the details of your incident to include your location.
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