Cops fill in the blanks: Burglary bid resulted in Kottayam housewife's murder

Kottayam: A 23-year-old youth was arrested on Thursday in connection with the murder of a housewife's murder.

Kottayam Thazhathangadi native Muhammed Bilal was taken into custody on Wednesday from Kochi. The arrest was registered a day later. Bilal is an acquaintance of the couple.

The youth has admitted to the crime, District Police Chief G Jayadev told mediapersons on Thursday. He is an accused in several cases, the police said.

Sheeba, a 55-year-old housewife, was found dead near the front door of her roadside house, Shaani Manzil, at Parappadath in Thazhathangadi on Monday morning.

Her husband, Mohammad Salih, 60, too was found lying unconscious near the body with assault wounds. He is currently at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital in critical condition.

The CCTV cameras installed at a petrol station in Chengalam had captured the accused fleeing with the victim's car.

The accused reached the victim's residence after quarrelling with his family. His intent was burglary. He was a familiar face at the household as he had lived near the couple's house a while ago.

There is no evidence to prove that he had any financial dealings with the couple.

The accused was employed at several hotels and did odd cooking jobs. He also worked as a driver at an online taxi firm.

The day of the crime

On the day of the incident, the accused reached the couple's residence. He was admitted into the house without suspicion as he was a familiar face in the household.

He first attacked the husband and later the wife.

The husband was assaulted when the wife went to the kitchen to fetch water. The couple was attacked using a teapoy in the house.

After committing the crime, the accused stole Sheeba's gold ornaments and escaped in the family's red Wagon R car.

He left the gas cylinder open to destroy evidence.

Since the accused was sheltered at the couple's house earlier, they were not doubtful of his motives.

Hideout in Edappally

After fleeing the crime scene, the accused took shelter at a house in Edappally. The house was earlier rented by migrant workers.

The accused had approached a hotel owner in the area seeking a job. But he was asked to wait for a couple of days. The house was provided to him as a temporary shelter, locals said.

Bilal had informed his neighbours that he was an employee at a hotel in Kochi. The gold ornaments stolen by the accused was recovered from the Edappally residence.

The car used by the accused to escape from the crime scene is yet to be recovered.

The police are likely to take Bilal to the crime scene for collecting evidence.