Pala: The Pala Sessions Court on Wednesday found Satheesh Babu alias Satheesh Nair, 38, of Mezhuvathattungakl House, Kuttikkote, Kasaragod, guilty of the murder of Sister Amala, 69, a nun attached to the Lisieux Carmelite Convent, here, about three years ago.

The court will pronounce the sentence on Friday. The convict was found guilty under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 302 (murder), 375 (rape), and 447 (criminal trespass).

The body of Sr. Amala was found in a pool of blood in her bedroom at the convent, where she had been spending her retired life, on September 16, 2015. Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was hit on the head with a heavy and blunt object.

During interrogations Satheesh Babu, a habitual offender, had confessed to have murdered another nun – Sr. Jose Maria, 81, of Sacred Heart Convent in Chettuthodu near Erattupetta - in April 2015. He also told the interrogators that before murdering Sr. Amala, he had attacked Sister Jaseentha, 75, of the same convent. The trial in both cases is still underway.

He has been booked in as many as 21 cases, all related to crimes targeting Catholic convents and institutions run by nuns in Bharananganam, Koothattukulam, Vadakara, and Paika.

Babu tries to defend himself

When the court sought his response after pronouncing him guilty of Sr. Amala’s murder, Babu pleaded innocence and started challenging the prosecution version himself.

He argued that it was impossible for him, weighing 87 kgs, to climb atop the terrace of the convent by grabbing hold of the narrow sunshade. Moreover, the DNA test had confirmed that the charges of sexual assault were false, he said.

Defending himself, he told the court that though the police claimed to have recovered weapons allegedly used for the murder, the charge-sheet did not specify which of them was used to commit the crime.

He also requested the court to hand down the capital punishment to him if the murder and rape charges against him were found to be true.

Following the court proceedings, he was shifted to the Pala sub-jail.