A 17-year-old Acton boy stood shackled and silent in Concord District Court on Thursday, Aug. 13, as not-guilty pleas were entered on his behalf on two counts of murder in the deaths of his mother and younger brother.

Judge Lynn C. Brendemuehl ordered Arjun Aravind held without bail after prosecutors described evidence of a violent struggle at the family's home at 1 Martha Lane in Acton, where the killings occurred Tuesday, Aug. 11. In addition to the murder charges, Aravind faces two counts of assault and battery on a family or household member, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, use of a vehicle without authority and theft of a motor vehicle, according to Wicked Local's reporting on the arraignment.

His mother, Sudha Venkatesan, 45, was found dead in the finished basement. His brother, Siddharth Aravind, 14, was found dead on the first floor.

Prosecutor Suzanne Wiseman told the court that investigators found evidence of blunt force trauma on both victims and a "visible and violent struggle" at the home. The official cause of death has not been determined and no weapon has been identified.

According to the Boston Herald, the police report describes "significant biological evidence around the bodies," dried blood on the edge of a bathtub, blood drop stains on the bathroom floor, bloody men's clothing discarded on the upper floor and "bloody footprints throughout."

How the investigation began

The father, Sukumaran Aravind, called Acton Police at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday to request a well-being check after a scheduled tutor could not get into the home and no one inside answered the phone. He had last seen his wife when he left for work around 7 a.m. that morning.

When officers arrived, they found the garage door open and the mother's car missing. They discovered the two bodies inside.

Aravind was not at the residence. Police located him at 3:40 a.m. Wednesday in his mother's 2014 green Honda Accord in a parking lot in Wayland, about 14 miles away. He was taken into custody without incident. Wiseman said investigators recovered items from the car that "corresponded with evidence from the crime scene."

DA cites ChatGPT searches

At a Wednesday, Aug. 12, press conference at the Acton Police Station, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Aravind had recently been using ChatGPT to create "fantasy stories, gothic novel kind of stories, asking questions, creating characters" that "seemed to relate to threats to his family not surviving."

Court documents also show that Aravind's father had recently grown worried about his son's internet activity and had started hiding the knives in the house, CBS News reported.

Defense seeks psychiatric evaluation

Defense attorney Debra DeWitt did not challenge the no-bail request but asked that it be imposed without prejudice, leaving open the possibility of a future bail hearing. She told reporters after the arraignment that Aravind did not realize his mother and brother were dead when he left the home.

"I'm not sure if he realizes the extent of what's going on," DeWitt said.

DeWitt has requested a psychiatric evaluation for Aravind, which the court granted. She has not ruled out a defense based on lack of criminal responsibility.

Under Massachusetts law, anyone 14 or older charged with murder is tried as an adult. Aravind, a rising senior at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, does not have a prior criminal record, though Acton Police Chief Douglas Sturniolo said the teen was known to police from a runaway report the prior year.

Aravind is scheduled to return to Concord District Court for a probable cause hearing Sept. 11.