THENI: An elderly couple was found murdered inside their house near Uthamapalayam in the Theni district on Wednesday night.
The deceased have been identified as Karuppiah, 80, and his wife Sivakami, 70. They were found gagged to death in the hall of their house, police said.
Sources say that Karuppiah had worked in Thrissur in the neighbouring state of Kerala for several years. A few years ago Karuppiah with his wife returned to their native village of Hanumanthampatti in Uthamapalayam taluk. However, the couple's six sons and two daughters still live in Thrissur.
Against this backdrop, police sources said that the couple's elder son Pitchai and a daughter had come to the village to attend a function.
They went to meet their parents on Wednesday night but found the house padlocked. Thinking that their parents would have gone out somewhere, Pitchai and his sister broke the padlock in a bid to go in and take a rest before they headed to Kerala. To their shock, when they entered the hall they found their parents lying dead.
Police sources said that Karuppiah and his wife were found gagged to death with a pillow.
Police were unable to come to conclusion whether it was a murder for gain since the couple's children have no idea about the ornaments or cash their parents had in their possession.
However, three police teams have been formed to crack the double-murder. As many as 11 persons were questioned in connection with the case. The relatives of the couple and robbery case suspects are being questioned, said police sources.