Overview
- Police exhumed two decomposed bodies from a pit at a family house in Nedumkandam on Monday during a search launched after the daughter reported her mother Marykutty, 70, and brother Reji, 48, missing.
- Saji, the younger son, was taken into custody near the home on Tuesday, and the district police chief said he confessed to killing his mother and elder brother and burying them.
- The remains were shifted to Idukki Medical College for post-mortem and DNA testing, which are needed because advanced decomposition prevents visual identification and obscures cause of death.
- Investigators say early leads point to family disputes, including a reported property fight, claims of harassment, and opposition to Saji’s marriage, and they plan to seek his court remand for further questioning.
- Police will also revisit the 2018 disappearance of Marykutty’s husband, Mathew, to check for any connection to the current case.