CHENNAI: A 26-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday after medical reports confirmed that his wife did not die of natural causes, but it was a case of murder.
The suspect, Rajmohan, was taken into custody after the postmortem and medical tests revealed that his wife Stephy Matilda (23) had suffered a major head injury, and had fluid in her lungs. Initially filed as a case of sudden death, the FIR was later altered to murder, the police said.
According to the Manimangalam police, Stephy had been facing abuse at the hands of Rajmohan and his mother, including pressure for more dowry, apart from casteist verbal abuse. The couple had fallen in love in 2022, when Rajmohan was a tenant at her family’s home in Varadharajapuram. They got married in Sivaganga in 2024, despite opposition from both families, the police said.
Stephy’s relatives said they gave 45 sovereigns of gold, and cash worth several lakhs to Rajmohan’s family. Police said on May 3, Stephy’s brother was called to her house by Rajmohan’s brother. When he arrived, she was lying unconscious. She was taken to a hospital, but declared dead. Police later found injuries on her face and neck. Rajmohan is currently in custody, and RDO inquiry is on.