Des Plaines-area house fire deemed murder-suicide

Cook County Sheriff's office investigators believe the fire-related deaths of a Des Plaines-area couple last week were a murder-suicide, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

A close family friend who is the couple's pastor was outraged by the police report.

"This is absolutely wrong," said the Rev. P.C. Mammen, pastor of the International Pentecostal Church of God Hebron Gospel Center in Des Plaines, of which the couple were members. "This is not the truth. This report is very painful because this family is a very loving family."

Firefighters found the charred bodies of the Rev. P.Y. Philipose, a retired Pentecostal minister, and his wife, Aleykutty, the morning of Sept. 14 on the first floor of the couple's duplex in unincorporated Maine Township.

Investigators found a gas can in the kitchen of the duplex, which family members when interviewed said is normally stored in the garage, said Lisa Gordon, sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Gordon said investigators now believe 65-year-old Aleykutty started the fire by pouring gasoline in the living room, which had been converted into a bedroom for the couple, where the 69-year-old Philipose was bedridden for the past four months.

Philipose had suffered a disabling stroke about four years ago, according to family members.

"Everything indicates it was probably a murder-suicide," Gordon said.

A final determination on the cause of death from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office is pending.

Mammen said neither he nor the Philiposes' family members had seen a written report of the police investigation.

"(Aleykutty) was a very nice, God-fearing woman," Mammen said. "She would never do it."

The couple, originally from Kerala, India, were members of the Des Plaines church for only about a year. Philipose served 25 years as chief petty officer in the Indian navy. He was a pastor at Elim Church in Gurnee for about 10 years but was forced to retire after the stroke, a daughter said earlier.

Mammen said Aleykutty took care of Philipose after he recently became bedridden and the couple had help from their daughters, daughter-in-law, and church members.

"They are very good people," Mammen said. "She was very connected with her husband, always praying for her husband. How can she do it?"

The couple's daughter-in-law, who lived there with her husband, was the only other person at home when the fire started. Asleep in the upstairs bedroom, she escaped the fire but was unable to save her in-laws who were trapped inside, according to a witness and authorities.

A family member reached by phone Tuesday morning said he was not aware of the police report and could not comment.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=322047">Family of couple lost in duplex fire mourns <span class="date">[9/17/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=321288">Des Plaines-area couple killed in fire <span class="date">[9/14/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>