The murdered woman's sister looks on as the pyre burns: Photo | ManoramaOnmanorama traces the trail the Latvian medical tourist had taken on her last day just before she was raped and murdered in a desolate location on the fringes of Thiruvananthapuram city.
The chronically depressed woman had gone missing from Kovalam on March 14 merely hours after she left the room she shared with her sister at an Ayurvedic facility at Pothencode in the state capital.
Her decapitated, highly decomposed body was found a month later in a mangrove forest at Thiruvallom. After more than a week of tests and interrogations, the police have finally caught the killers.
1) Kovalam Grove Beach (March 14, 9.15 am)
The foreign medical tourist got down here after taking an autorickshaw from Pothencode.
2) 4 km by foot
Boatman's statement was crucialFrom the beach, by taking the route beside the sea, she walked past KTDC Samudra Hotel, Panathura Mosque and temple
and crossed over to the other side of the lake. The route is very narrow at most places. If there are no waves, one
can also walk on the pier.
3) Pallinada Kadavu
A card player's havenThe boatman's statement that he didn't see the woman at the ghat turned out to be crucial in the probe.
4) Auditorium (10.30 am)
Accused Umesh saw the women here. Promising her a white beedi, he took her towards a deserted house near the mangrove
forest. On the way, the second accused, Udayan, also joined them. The woman bought water and banana from a shop on
the way.
5) Deserted house
All three smoked cigarettes here. Nearby is a place frequented by people who play cards.
6. The mangrove forest
The crime sceneThe mangrove forest, with plenty of creepers and climbers, is pitch dark even during day. The woman who fell
unconscious after smoking the cigarette was sexually abused four times. In the evening, when she wanted to return,
she got into an argument with the two accused. Umesh strangled her neck from behind. To pass it off as a suicide they
hung her body from a tree. Her highly decomposed body was later found here.
7) Fibre boats
Fibre boats at the crime sceneTwo fibre boats were found here. The rope of one of the boats was broken. Police are examining if the boat was used
to carry the body.
8) The stream that flows into the lake
Stream that flows into the lakeOne can cross over either by wading through this stream or holding on to the tree slanting over it. Cops are now
looking for the woman's slippers in the stream.
