THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vellarada murder case wherein a 28-year-old man killed his father has taken a fresh turn after the mother of the accused revealed that her son was hooked to black magic. Sushma, mother of Prejin Jose and wife of the deceased Jose, said she fears for her life if he is released from prison.
According to Sushma, Prejin started exhibiting behavioural changes after he enrolled in a short-duration film course in Ernakulam. Prejin, who used to regularly attend church lost interest in that and began listening to haunting music like ‘Ohm’ chants that carried some sort of vibrations, Sushma said.
She further said that Prejin used to sing in the choir and was good at initiating conversations, all of which changed after he joined the course. “He used to play the music after locking himself in his room on the first floor. He never allowed us there and threw tantrums if we tried to sneak in,” she said.
Prejin killed his father in a macabre manner on Wednesday night and one of the weapons, a knife, he had used to commit the crime was already kept prepared, said Sushma.
Prejin’s life took a turn for the worse when he could not get the MBBS certificate from his university in Wuhan, China. He joined medicine in 2014 and though he completed the course, he was denied the course certificate as the agency in Kochi that got him admission did not transfer the final year fee to the university. Prejin was frustrated over this and later joined the film course.
However, Sushma said, her son used to manhandle her and Jose and that they had been living like hostages since his return from China. Prejin was taken to a psychiatrist thrice on his insistence, but they sent him back saying he had no mental issues, she said.
Meanwhile, the Vellarada police said they are unaware of the black magic angle as Sushma did not mention anything regarding the same in her statement.
“Had she told us any of these things, we could’ve brought out the truth. Despite our continuous prodding, she did not reveal anything. If she had informed us about the black magic, we could’ve grilled Prejin about the matter while he was in our custody,” said an officer.
According to the officer, a material resembling a scabbard made of coir was found in Prejin’s room during inspection. “Though it appeared strange, we did not connect it with black magic as nobody else in the family mentioned such a thing to us,” said the officer.
The officer said Prejin’s room was in a state of disarray and two Bibles were recovered from there. “Verses were written in those Bibles. We could not find anything else that evoked suspicion,” the officer added. The police, however, felt the murder was not committed in the heat of the moment and there was evidence suggesting that Prejin was prepared.
Sushma: Took Prejin to psychiatrist thrice
Sushma said, her son used to manhandle her and Jose and that they had been living like hostages since his return from China. Prejin was taken to a psychiatrist thrice on his insistence, but they sent him back saying he had no mental issues, she said.