TUMAKURU: In a horrific incident, a man hacked his wife to death, cut off her head and skinned the body in the wee hours of Tuesday at Huliyurudurga town of Kunigal taluk.
The accused, Shivarama, a labourer at a sawmill, stabbed Pushpalatha (35) with a knife after she did not offer him dinner on Monday night. Later, he severed her head with a machete, cut some of her body parts and kept on skinning the body until dawn.
He then informed his landlord about the crime. The couple’s eight-year-old son was asleep during the gruesome murder. When the police arrived, they were left shocked on seeing the crime scene. They arrested the accused.
“I have never ever seen such a barbaric crime in 25 years of my service,” said Amrithuru police inspector Madya Naik. Sources said the boy could not identify his mother due to the disfigurement. She had promised him to take to school for admission on Tuesday, sources said.
SP Ashok K V and senior officers also visited the spot. The accused hailed from Sugganahalli village and the victim from Sagar in Shivamogga district. They met at a workplace and got married 10 years ago.
They lived in Bengaluru and Kunigal for some years before shifting to Hosapete Extension of Huliyurudurga a couple of years ago. But their relationship strained as they used to fight, sources said. As the victim used to speak over phone with her acquaintances, the accused was suspecting her fidelity.