‘I killed her, inform police’: Kochi man tells neighbour after stabbing wife to death

Kochi: When retired KSEB employee George, a resident of Maramangalam in Kothamangalam in Ernakulam, received a phone call around 2 am on Tuesday, he was asked to check on his neighbour, 65-year-old Kuriakose P V, who lived across the road.

George immediately went to Kuriakose’s house. Once he reached, Kuriakose opened the door, came out and sat on the sit-out. There were blood stains on him.

“The moment he saw me, he said, ‘I have killed her. The police must be informed. I am waiting for them; I will sit right here on the sit-out’ I was so shocked to see him like that and I did not enter the house,” George told Onmanorama.

George immediately alerted the police and local ward member Augustine. Once Kuriakose's son-in-law arrived, they together entered the house and found Kunjamma lying on the floor with stab injuries. The police, led by Kalloorkad CI, who was in charge of the sub-division for the night, reached the house and took Kuriakose into custody by around 3 am. Kunjamma had suffered around 10 stab injuries, allegedly inflicted with a steel kitchen knife.

The FIR, registered at Kothamangalam police station under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), states that Kuriakose allegedly killed his wife out of suspicion that she was involved in an illicit affair with another man.

Sources said that Kuriakose later told police that he had found his wife with another man at night and confronted her, following which she was stabbed during an altercation in which he acted in self-defence. However, police said their preliminary investigation has found no evidence that another person was present in the house.

“He had made some allegations after getting arrested. The presence of another person did not come up in our preliminary investigation. We have only received information that he did it out of morbid suspicion,” said a police officer.

The police said communication with Kuriakose remains limited because of his physical condition following a recent heart bypass surgery. “He has no voice and his condition is not ok. So we are yet to take a very detailed statement from him. We are investigating what exactly happened,” said the police.

The incident has left local residents shocked, with neighbours saying they were unaware of any serious disputes between the couple.

“They are both elderly people. They had no other bad habits, temperamental issues, quarrels, or disturbances of any kind,” said Augustine, the local ward member.

According to Augustine, Kuriakose was a committee member of a local church there and was engaged in agricultural work. George said he had previously run a toddy shop.

The couple lived alone. Their son lives in Australia with his wife, while their daughter is in Ireland. Kuriakose's son-in-law lives in Pulinthanam, Enanalloor.

Neighbours said Kuriakose had undergone heart bypass surgery around three weeks ago and had been staying in quarantine in a room to avoid infection following the procedure.
“After the surgery, he has been in severe depression,” George said.

Augustine said the family wondered whether Kuriakose’s unusual statements to his son could have been related to post-surgical delirium or hallucinations.

Kunjamma’s body was shifted to the mortuary for post-mortem examination. Augustine said her funeral will be held after the children arrive from abroad.