A 55-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by a man at Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur. The deceased has been identified as Dhanalakshmi, a native of Kannamangalam in Malappuram.

The accused has been identified as Vigneesh. Cheruthuruthy police have registered a case under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the First Information Report (FIR), the woman was murdered sometime between Tuesday 7 pm and Wednesday 3 pm at their rented room in Hanna Residency, Cheruthuruthy.

Police told Onmanorama that the accused confessed to the crime at Thenhipalam police station, following which officials there alerted the Cheruthuruthy police. The police then reached the hotel room and found the woman's body.

Ward member Rahmanullah told Onmanorama that Dhanalakshmi was a dance teacher and lived with her husband, who works as a centring worker in Cheroor. "They lived a normal life with a son and a daughter. It is truly shocking news for us," he said.

Residents said they had seen Vigneesh and Dhanalakshmi getting down from a bus three days ago and walking together while having a casual conversation. "People took note of him because he was not from here and nobody had seen him before," said Yunus, Dhanalakshmi's neighbour.

"As a dance teacher, she goes for programmes at several places, so we assumed he could be related to her in that context. But now that news like this has come out, all of us are in shock," he added.

The inquest procedures are underway, and the exact cause of death can be confirmed only after the autopsy, police said.