THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 61-year-old woman, who was reported missing from Neyyardam police station limits on July 1, was found murdered near Tirunelveli. She was reportedly raped before being choked to death by a Kanyakumari native, Libin Raj, who has been arrested by the police.
The woman had gone reportedly went on a pilgrimage to various churches by June last. As she used to travel alone to the churches and return after some time, relatives initially did not bother to look up for her.
As she failed to return after 10 days, the relatives filed a complaint with the police. The police found that she had initially went to Varkala. Later, she left for Tirunelveli where she allegedly befriended Libin. Libin under the pretext of offering a ride on his bike, took her to a remote area and sexually assaulted her. When she resisted, he choked her to death and left the body behind.
The police came to know about the dead body and during further probe it was revealed that the body belonged to the missing woman. The accused was identified from the CCTV visuals. Libin reportedly handed over the documents that were in the possession of the victim that he had managed to steal from her after the murder. It was these documents that proved crucial in identifying the victim.