CHENNAI: Four years after a cinema junior artist was murdered in the city, a sessions court here sentenced a couple, who were relatives of the victim, to life term.
Delivering the verdict on Friday, first additional sessions court judge S Malathi upheld the prosecution’s version that the couple had murdered the victim angered by her refusal to give them money.
Adhi Lakshmi, then 45-years old and residing in Kodambakkam, was found dead in her house on October 16, 2010, and the Pondy Bazaar police registered a murder case as the autopsy report revealed that the victim, Adhi Lakshmi was strangulated to death.
After conducting investigations, the police charged Prabha alias Prabhavathi and Edward Jayakumar for the murder of Adhi Lakshmi in the city.
The couple, residing at Minjur, was related to Adhi Lakshmi and was being helped by her financially over the years.
Adhi Lakshmi was also acting as junior artists in Tamil films.
According to the prosecution, the couple started demanding more money from Adhi Lakshmi, which she refused. On the night of October 15, 2010, the couple killed Adhi Lakshmi by strangulating her using a towel, angered by her refusal to give them more money, even though she did not seem to have any obligation to give them money.
Police arrested the couple three days later as they were trying to board a train at Chennai Central Railway Station in the city.
On completion of the trial, the court held that the prosecution had proved the charges against the couple beyond doubt and sentenced them to life in jail.
The court in its sentence also imposed a fine of `33,000 on the couple for their crime.