HYDERABAD: Barely three weeks after Karthik Rajaram killed his family before shooting himself, there seems to be another tragic fallout of the  global meltdown.

A Telugu software programmer, who lost his job recently, reportedly killed three members of his family in Detroit on Tuesday, even as the US federal police launched a manhunt for the 42-year-old man.

The bodies of Jayalakshmi Nerusu (37), her 14-year-old daughter Tejasvi and 12-year-old son Siva were found on the first floor of their residence at Wharton Court in Novi area, 20 km from Detroit.

"The accused, Lakshminivasa Rao Nerusu, caused grievous injuries on the head and neck areas of each victim," Novi police chief David E Molloy said, even as he described the crime scene as "very disturbing." An autopsy report said the victims were stabbed.

Investigators said the father lost his job recently and the family car was repossessed about a month ago. The police went to the house after a relative complained that he had not heard from the family for several days. Friends and relatives of the victims were interrogated by the police, but they could not draw any conclusions on the motive behind the murders.

Molloy said they have no record of domestic violence cases regarding the Nerusu family and insisted that Nerusu was only a 'person of interest' at this point of investigation. "The three victims had wounds on the arms, indicating that they tried to fend off the blows," Molloy said.

Jayalakshmi was a housewife, while Tejasvi and Siva were school students. Both the children were good at studies, said school officials. Sources said the Nerusu family had shifted to Novi area from Illinois last August. Unconfirmed reports said Rao had left for India on October 14.