Girl, 15, killed grandfather in Bukit Batok flat before taking her own life: Coroner's court

Warning: This article contains references to suicide.

SINGAPORE: A 15-year-old girl killed her grandfather in their Bukit Batok flat before taking her own life in an "unlawful killing", a coroner's court found on Wednesday (Nov 29).

Mr Teo An Nee, 84, was found dead with stab wounds on Jun 23, 2022.

His granddaughter, Ms Ellis Teo, was discovered on a grass patch several blocks away that same day. 

The court heard from the investigating officer on both cases that there was no third party involved, based on the evidence gathered.

SERIES OF EVENTS

Ms Teo lived with her parents and paternal grandfather in the flat at Block 363, Bukit Batok Street 31.

On the day of the killing, her parents were at work while the grandfather was seen on police cameras heading home at about 2.30pm. 

At about 5pm, Ms Teo was shown leaving the block with a plaster on her left hand.

Records from the public transport card operator EZ-Link showed that she took a train. She then walked to Block 115, Bukit Batok West Avenue 6, where she took the lift to the 25th floor and jumped down.

According to Ms Teo's mother, the teenager had called her twice before she was found dead.

Ms Teo told her mother not to buy milk and said she did not wish to go home. She said she had done something that would make her mother angry.

The investigation officer told the court that Ms Teo's mother felt it was "weird" but did not know what exactly had happened.

The mother went home at around her usual time at around 5.30pm and was greeted by the family dog whose mouth was covered in blood.

She checked her father-in-law's room and discovered the elderly man covered in blood, lying near the toilet in a supine position. A knife was on the right side of the body, near the toilet bowl.

The woman and her husband, who had called for an ambulance, decided that she should wash the knife. She placed the knife on the kitchen rack after washing it.

An autopsy found at least seven stab wounds on Mr Teo's body. A shirt that was part of Ms Teo's school uniform was found in a mop pail, covered in her grandfather's blood.

Mr Teo's DNA was found on the knife blade in the kitchen, but Ms Teo's DNA could not be found on the knife.

This was likely because her mother had washed the knife, the investigator told the court.

SUICIDAL IDEATIONS

After the two bodies were found, the police searched Ms Teo's room and found her diary which contained information about her mental health issues and suicidal ideations.

In diary entries dated 2021, she wrote that she felt lonely and shared methods of dying. She also stated that she wanted to kill herself from a Housing Board block behind her cousin's home, which was very close to the place where she was later found dead.

The diary did not reveal any ill intention towards her grandfather, although one entry indicated that she faced difficulties when talking to him.

She wrote that she had difficulty talking to him and teaching him to use his phone, as her Mandarin was bad and she could not overcome this problem.

In another entry, she wrote that she had "great parents who care for her" and that she loved her friends.

An unnamed relative said in an interview with the police that Ms Teo might have been "triggered" due to her grandpa's phone ringtone.

It was stated that Ms Teo, who was noted to be a quiet girl by both family and friends, did not like loud sounds.

However, the police checked Mr Teo's phone and found that there were no messages, phone calls or alarms set during the period of time when the killing occurred.

The investigating officer said the police were unable to tell the court what exactly happened when Mr Teo was home alone with his granddaughter.

There were no signs of a break-in, and the footprints and DNA found at the scene at the time belonged only to the two of them.

The police said the assault likely took place in Mr Teo's room, near the toilet entrance. However, they were unable to determine what Ms Teo's motive was.

While Ms Teo's friends knew of suggestions that the girl wanted to kill herself, her parents were not aware of this and did not suspect that there was anything wrong, said the investigation officer.

The family members of the two Teos had consistently maintained that they had no interest in attending the coroner's inquiry, the officer added.

The parents of Ms Teo have been administered police warnings for obstructing the course of justice.