CHENNAI: A 67-year-old woman living alone in Tambaram was found murdered and her gold jewels missing, in yet another incident of robbers targeting senior citizens.
Police said the victim, S Vellaiammal, lived on the first floor of a house at Mugambikai Nagar in West Tambaram while her son Muthaiah lived with his wife on the ground floor of the same building. The victim’s husband, Subramani, was living separately in a house in the same neighbourhood.
Police sources said Subramani and Muthaiah visited Vellaiammal occasionally as they were not on talking terms.
Vellaiammal’s murder came to light on Thursday evening when a foul smell emanated from her room and the neighbours alerted Muthaiah. When Muthaiah went to check on his mother, he found the entrance door locked. The door was one which could be locked with a key from the outside. With no response coming from his mother, he alerted Tambaram police. A police team broke open the door at around 6.30 pm and found the elderly woman lying dead in a decomposed state.
The victim had a knife stabbed in her neck with around seven sovereigns of gold jewels that she was wearing reportedly missing. “The handle of the knife was broken and found close to the body. But the steel portion was found struck in the neck of the victim,” said a police officer.
Muthaiah told the police that he last saw his mother on Monday. From the state of the body, police suspect the victim was killed at least three days ago. The Tambaram police have registered a case and a forensic team collected evidence from the spot. Police have filed a case and further investigations are on.