KOCHI: The death of a 76-year-old woman, who was reported to have succumbed to her injuries after suffering a fall on Tuesday night, has now turned out to be a case of murder. Karmily, of Rameshwaram colony, near Thoppumpady, was pushed to her death by Antony, 33, the husband of her granddaughter Greeshma.
This followed a scuffle over serving food the same day. Karmily, who sustained injuries to her head in the fracas, threatened to let her other relatives in on the assault.
This further incensed Antony, who kicked and thrashed her multiple times, leading to her death. The couple, who were staying with the woman, then tried covered up the incident by changing her dress and removing the blood stains in the room.
Local residents grew suspicious after no one emerged from the house that day. The neighbours had also heard Karmily’s screams in the early hours. Subsequently, they informed the police. Antony told officers that Karmily had suffered a fall, and that despite rushing her to a hospital nearby her life could not be saved.
The postmortem threw up the head injury from hitting the edge of a wall. Her body also had marks of the assault. Upon detailed interrogation, Antony confessed to the crime. His arrest was recorded on Wednesday.
The investigation revealed that Greeshma had assisted Antony in the murder and in destroying the evidence. She was arrested on Thursday. The duo, who is currently in judicial, has a five-month-old baby.