Chenthamara, who is wanted in Nenmara twin-murder case, has always been a moody person with a sullen temperament. Before he was arrested for the murder of a woman named Sajitha in 2019, he had been charged with culpable homicide at Palladam police station in Tiruppur district in Tamil Nadu after he had run over a child with his truck. Sajitha was the first wife of Sudhakaran, who was hacked to death along with his mother Lekshmi by Chenthamara on January 27. For the police, this remained his only criminal antecedent till 2019. Trial in both the cases has been pending and Chenthamara was out on bail when he killed the duo.

For the villagers, Chenthamara was a man whose dour face hid a bristling rage that could erupt at any time. His was a love marriage and he had initially settled at Nellichodu before moving to a small colony at Pothundy with his wife Vilasini.

"He is the psycho of our village. He would tell us stuff about black magic and how he was acting as per directions of 'Chathan'(evil spirit). Even when we tried talking sense to him, he would dismiss us," said Manu, a resident of Pothundy. In 2019 and in the recent killings, he had inflicted multiple fatal slash wounds on victims. "In the murder of Sudhakaran and Lekshmi, he had tied a stick to the cleaver so that he could ensure reach, grip and strength to the blows. He works alone, and we have not come across any accomplices," said N Muraleedharan, DySP, Alathur, who is part of the investigation team.

Villagers always dreaded him and thought he was capable of horrific things. "Once he casually walked into a shop at Pothundy junction carrying an iron rod. I felt something amiss and asked him why he was carrying an iron rod. He told me that a staff in a private bus was talking to his daughter and he wanted to finish him off because he was trying to beguile her. He wasn't joking. I immediately rang up that guy and told him to get off the bus before it reached Pothundy junction. He really wanted to kill him," said Manu.

Ambikavathy, a neighbour and resident of Pothundy, said that he had attempted to kill his wife Vilasini once and she ran away with her daughter. "He got angry, pulled a cleaver from under the slab, grabbed her by the neck and nearly hacked her, but he lost his grip and she ran off screaming. There was a reason why villagers panicked at his sight," said Ambikavathy.

Tall and hefty, Chenthamara walked around in saffron dhoti and shirt, with a patchy stubble. He evoked fear among villagers with his fast-paced speech and cryptic ways of living.

"If someone wears a new dress and walks by his house, he would warn them not to do that. He believed that people conspired against him and was doing witchcraft against him," said Manu.

Only a month ago Chenthamara, who was out on bail, moved into his house at Pothundy that had been locked for years. He often stayed inside, cooked food and only let in people rarely. Pushpa, who was a friend of Sajitha, said she filed three complaints with the police. "Initially cops told me that he was not allowed to enter Nenmara panchayat according to bail conditions. When I told them he had actually started living in his house, they again ignored my complaint. Sajitha's daughter also filed a complaint. Cops ignored everything," she said. Pushpa had been one of the first witnesses to see Sajitha's body lying in a pool of blood.

"We were friends. He never liked us. He mocked at my disability. I am a polio-infected woman. If he wanted to kill someone, he had a habit of telling everyone. This time also it was no different. We had always warned Sajitha but she was bold and never took it seriously. His wife Vilasini was also close to us. His intention was to kill five people this time, I am sure I was included in the list. Fortunately, I was away the day he killed Sudhakaran and Lekshmi. Nobody can imagine how much scared we are of this man," said Pushpa who lives with his daughter opposite Chenthamara's house.

The villagers said Chenthamara would have killed Sudhakaran's daughters and second wife, but luckily they were away on the day of the murder. He didn't get along well with Bindu, one of his relatives and had also threatened to kill her.