Pathanamthitta Additional District & Sessions Court -1, on Saturday, sentenced Nazeer, 47, to life imprisonment for the murder and rape of a 26-year-old nurse at Perumpetty, Pathanamthitta. Nazeer was convicted of rape, murder and criminal trespass. Judge G P Jayakrishnan sentenced him to 10 years for rape and 7 years for trespass. The sentences shall run concurrently.

The woman, Tinchu Michael, was murdered on December 15, 2019. She had been living with her partner Tijin Joseph. Nazeer, who was a timber merchant, had been in talks with Joseph regarding sale of a tree on the house premises and would visit the house frequently. On December 15, Tijin, an autodriver had gone on a trip. Upon learning that she was alone at home, Nazeer tried to sexually assault Tinchu.

While attempting to resist his moves, Tinchu's head was slammed against the cot, leaving her unconscious. The postmortem examination revealed that she was brutally raped before being hanged from the ceiling using a dhothi.

The case was initially investigated by the Perumpetty police, who had registered a case of unnatural death. The police initially suspected Tijin,who was assaulted by the then Perumpetty SI Sharif after being called to the station for questioning. Following his complaint, including one to the Chief Minister, the case was handed over to the District Crime Branch in February 2020.

The probe team was led by R Prathapan Nair, the then District Crime Branch DySP. The police conducted a dummy analysis, which ruled out suicide, strengthening the suspicion of murder. It was also discovered that the test results for samples taken from Tinchu's body had been pending for months.

The autopsy, which was conducted at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital, revealed 53 injuries on the woman's body in addition to the retrieval of blood samples. Additionally, samples retrieved from under the woman's fingernails proved to be a critical turning point in the case.

The investigation team then proceeded based on the forensic lab's scientific analysis of the samples, which led to the discovery of DNA from an unknown suspect. They then collected samples from suspected individuals, which led them to Nazeer. 

The investigation matched the DNA samples retrieved from the woman's fingernails with those of Nazeer, leading to his arrest, 22 months after he had committed the crime. Public Prosecutor Harisankar Prasad appeared for the prosecution. Prasad said that DNA evidence and last seen theory were crucial in proving the crime.