CHENNAI: A day after 65-year-old G Jayalakshmi was found with her throat slit at her home in CIT Nagar, the police are questioning the deceased victim’s relatives, including her husband, and neighbours in the three-storey apartment building in Saidapet.
Sources in Royapettah hospital, where the body was brought for post-mortem, told Express that while Jayalakshmi had suffered several cut injuries on her body, death was caused by two deep gashes on the central and side of her throat. There was also a large wound on her thigh, but not grievous enough to cause death.
While there was no definite evidence that the victim had been throttled, her thyroid cartilage was found broken, they added.
On the type of weapon used in the murder, the sources said the killer(s) must have used a “sharp, single-edged knife with considerable thickness.”
This seems to tally with the police claim that they recovered a kitchen knife at the scene of the crime.
But what does not is the time of the incident. The police are proceeding on the assumption that the murder took place “between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm.” This is largely based on the preliminary enquiry conducted with the victim’s 70-year-old husband, Gajapathi, who told them that he went out at 2.30 pm and returned home in the evening to find his wife murdered.
The post-mortem report, however, puts the time of death between 12 pm and 2 pm.
So far, the police have questioned some 50 people. They are also trying to zero in on other visitors to the house.
The police theory is that the assailants were known to the victim, as there were no signs of forced entry. A senior police official said two persons seemed to have been involved in the murder, but refused to go any further.
While the killer(s) stole the 15 sovereigns of gold jewellery on the victim’s body, the valuables in the steel almirah were untouched.
This raises the question whether it is really a murder for gain. “We are looking into all angles,” the police said.