THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 21-year-old woman was found dead in her residence with her nose clipped and mouth taped at Pattom on Wednesday night. The deceased has been identified as Sandra, a resident of Pattom. The Museum police said Sandra was found dead in her bedroom. The young woman was reportedly suffering from severe depression and has been under medical care.
The police added that Sandra’s education had been suspended for a while due to her medical condition. When the incident occurred, she was alone in her room. Sandra’s brother and father were in the house when the incident occurred, while her mother had gone for work. Sandra’s father is a retired KSEB officer, while her mother is employed with KSEB.
According to police sources, Sandra was found dead in her room located in the base floor of the three-storey building. Her father and brother were staying upstairs. Sandra had been having severe depression since 2021 and was under treatment. Police sources added that she had undergone medical treatment in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram and was under medication. In 2021 she joined a degree course in Mar Ivanios College but quit her studies after the first semester due to her mental condition.
Sandra was having the habit of sitting alone in her room for a long time and because of that her parents had removed the latches of the room. However, she could still lock the door by pressing the lock. On Wednesday, Sandra retired to her room early and when she was not spotted outside, her mother checked on her by opening the room from outside using the key.
The police said Sandra was found dead with a plastic cloth clip attached to her nose. The mouth was covered using cello tape and brown parcel tape. There was injury on the nose reportedly resulting from clipping, while abrasions were also found on her face, which the police felt could have been left behind when the family members tried to remove the tape from Sandra’s face. The police sources said though suicide could be one of the reasons for the death, nothing can be categorically said until the autopsy report is obtained.
(Suicide helplines -- Maithri, Cochin: +91 239 6272; Sumaitri, New Delhi: 2338 9090, Sneha, Chennai: 91-44-2464 0050, 91-44-2464 0060, Aasra, Mumbai: 9820466726, Fortis MentalHealth: 8376804102)