Athira homicide case in Kerala: Police establish physio-therapist as suspect

The Thiruvananthapuram Rural police consider they’ve zeroed in on the suspect within the deadly stabbing of Athira, 33, a housewife and mom of a two-year-old little one, at her residence at Kadinamkulam, a coastal suburb on the outskirts of the capital metropolis in Kerala on Tuesday (January 21, 2025).

S. Manjulal, DySP, Attingal, recognized the homicide suspect as Johnson Ouseph, a physio-therapist at present residing in Chellanam in Ernakulam. He additionally has a sizeable variety of followers on Instagram, together with the sufferer.

Mr. Manjulal advised The Hindu that an intense social media friendship that turned bitter had resulted within the crime of ardour. 

Athira’s husband, Rajesh, a priest on the close by Bharanikad Devi temple, discovered his spouse with a deep stab harm on her neck when he returned house after the morning pooja. The daylight homicide within the secure environs of the lady’s home had precipitated a way of insecurity within the district.

The police mentioned there have been no eye-witnesses to the homicide nor any indicators of wrestle on the crime scene. An investigator mentioned the police concluded that somebody acquainted with Athira had killed her, and their suspicion pivoted in direction of Mr. Rajesh initially.

Cyber forensic inspection

Nevertheless, a cyber forensic inspection of Athira’s social media exercise and WhatsApp chats revealed that Johnson had befriended her in January 2024 and remained in contact for protracted intervals every day. The police haven’t dominated out a blackmail side within the homicide.

Additionally they verified the digital footprints of cellphones used within the locality and located that the suspect had initiated a SIM connection utilizing Athira’s id as proof. They detected its presence within the Kadinamkulam locality on the time of the homicide and within the days working as much as the crime.

The police ran a profile verify on the accused. They discovered that the native of Dalavapuram in Kollam district had divorced his spouse in 2021 and remained single since.

Furthermore, the police concluded that the accused had made good his escape on Athira’s scooter, which investigators later discovered deserted close to the Chirayankeezhu railway station. 

Monetary transactions

The police additionally uncovered that the accused had rented a room in a lodge at Perumathura and stayed there for almost every week. An investigator mentioned Mr. Ouseph had common monetary transactions with Athira and owed her an estimated ₹1 lakh in small borrowings.

The police mentioned they’d query Mr. Rajesh once more, together with his assertion that Athira had confessed to him about her acquaintance with Mr. Ouseph. They mentioned the crime matched the contours of a pre-meditated homicide, and there might be extra to it than meets the attention.

S. Sajan, Circle Inspector, Kadinamkulam, is main the probe. The police have despatched plainclothes squads to safe the custody of the accused and alerted their counterparts in different districts. They’ve additionally alerted their counterparts in railway stations, airports and border checkposts for the “fugitive”.