The father bought a gun two weeks before a Chester County family murder-suicide, sources say

The West Whiteland Township man found shot dead alongside his wife and two sons on Sunday had purchased a gun two weeks before police found the family’s bodies in the basement of their home, law enforcement sources said Wednesday.

And though no official ruling has been issued by county investigators, the early indication is that Deepak Kulkarni, 50, used that gun to kill his wife, Arti Adya Kulkarni, 47, and their two sons, Shubham, 14, and Sharvil, 7, those sources said.

The Chester County coroner has not issued a ruling on the cause and manner of the four victims’ deaths, other than to call them a murder-suicide. A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office declined to comment Wednesday.

Relatives who grew concerned when they could not reach the family in recent days were mourning their deaths.

Arti Kulkarni’s brother, Anand Adya, described his sister as a “model citizen,” and said he and his family are awash in grief. He declined to comment Wednesday on the news that Kulkarni had recently purchased a gun and may have killed his family.

“They definitely did not deserve this,” he said in an interview. “Arti was the most devoted wife, and an even more devoted mother, sister, and daughter. I was fortunate to have her as a sister.”

» READ MORE: Family of four found dead in murder-suicide in Chester County, police say

Adya, who had not heard from his sister for more than a week, grew worried on Sunday after a friend of Kulkarni’s contacted him, saying the father of two was not responding to his calls or texts.

Concerned, Adya drove to the townhouse his sister and her husband rented in a subdivision behind the Exton Regional Rail Station. When his knocks on the door went unanswered, Adya called police, who gained access to the home using a garage door opener inside one of the family’s cars.

In the basement, officers found all four family members dead from gunshot wounds, according to police.

The last time Adya spoke to his sister was Jan. 17, during a virtual Zoom celebration for their father’s birthday, he said. She seemed her usual self, he said, as did her husband.

Looking back, he said, there had been times in recent months when plans he’d made with his sister fell through, canceled at the last minute by Kulkarni without much explanation.

“It was obvious,” Adya said. “She wanted to meet, but he didn’t let us.”

Adya described his brother-in-law as friendly, but also somewhat secretive. Kulkarni struggled financially early in their marriage, he said and often asked him for loans. Things seemed to stabilize about five years ago, Adya said, but his brother-in-law asked for another loan in December.

If his sister was troubled, he said, she never let on.

“I would ask Arti if everything is OK, and she would never say anything,” Adya said. “And during our celebrations, all the way to Jan. 17, there was no inkling that things weren’t perfect.”

The couple had been married for 18 years after meeting in their native India, Adya said. They had immigrated to America for their careers: Kulkarni was a software analyst working for Education Management Systems, and his wife was a software developer, most recently employed by the University of Pennsylvania.

The couple’s sons both attended Collegium Charter School, located in nearby Exton, according to the school’s chief executive, Marita K. Barber. Grief counselors have been made available for the boys’ classmates, and the school is developing plans for a way to memorialize them.

“Shubham and Sharvil will remain as valued members of our school community and will be forever loved by their teachers and classmates,” Barber said in a statement. “We stand with those that grieve their loss and will miss their presence immensely.”