Mother of murdered boys speaks out as Sanjeev Chada applies for parole
In July 2013, Sanjeev Chada strangled his sons Eoghan, 10, and Ruairí, 5, in an isolated lane in Ballintubber, County Mayo, after staying the night in the car, and placed their bodies in the boot before deliberately crashing into a wall approximately 10 hours later. He had embezzled €56,000 from a local community group 10 days earlier and had written an email to himself at least a year and a half before expressing his desire to kill his wife and children. He is serving a life sentence. In July 2026, Sanjeev Chada applied for parole, and his ex-wife Kathleen Chada appeared on Ireland AM to express her fear for her safety if he is released.
- Reported
- Arrested
- Charged
- In court
- Verdict
- Sentenced
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Sanjeev Chada, who was supposedly taking his sons bowling, strangled Eoghan, 10, and Ruairí, 5, in an isolated lane in Ballintubber, County Mayo, in July 2013.
- He placed the boys' bodies in the boot before deliberately crashing the car into a wall approximately 10 hours later.
- He had embezzled €56,000 from a local community group to fund his stock market gambling, and the embezzlement was discovered 10 days before the murders.
- He had written an email to himself at least a year and a half before the murders expressing his desire to kill his wife and children.
- Where
- Sanjeev Chada lived in County Carlow.
- In court
- Sanjeev Chada has applied for parole.
- Other details
- Kathleen Chada appeared on Ireland AM in July 2026 to express her fear for her safety if Sanjeev Chada is released.
- The average life sentence in Ireland is 21 years.
13 statements extracted from the articles
- whatSanjeev Chada murdered his sons Eoghan, 10, and Ruairí, 5, in July 2013 (irishmirror.ie)
- whatSanjeev strangled the boys the following morning after staying the night in the car (irishmirror.ie)
- whatHe placed the bodies in the boot before deliberately crashing into a wall approximately 10 hours later (irishmirror.ie)
- whatSanjeev embezzled €56,000 from a local community group (irishmirror.ie)
- whatSanjeev had written an email to himself expressing his desire to kill his wife and children (irishmirror.ie)
- whatHe was supposedly taking his sons bowling when he drove them to the isolated lane (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe murder took place in an isolated lane in Ballintubber, County Mayo (irishmirror.ie)
- whereSanjeev lived in County Carlow (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe murder happened 10 days after the embezzlement was discovered (irishmirror.ie)
- whenHe had thought about killing all of them at least a year and a half before the murders (irishmirror.ie)
- causeThe embezzlement was for his gambling habit of dabbling in the stock market (irishmirror.ie)
- courtSanjeev Chada has applied for parole (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe average life sentence in Ireland is 21 years (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 18 Jul2026'My husband murdered our two little boys – then I read his chilling email'
Kathleen Chada appeared on Ireland AM to express her fear for her safety if Sanjeev Chada is released on parole, revealing he had written an email to himself expressing his desire to kill his wife and children at least a year and a half before the murders, and that the embezzlement of €56,000 was a trigger but the thought had been in his head for a long time.
victim, 10, male, irish (judged from name)victim, 5, male, irish (judged from name)convicted, Sanjeev Chada, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Sanjeev Chada