Techie couple guilty of killing woman’s kid, mother-in-law

Techies Nino Mathew, 42, and Anu Shanti, 32, have been found guilty of murdering the latter’s three-year-old daughter Swasthika and mother-in-law Omana, 60, and attempting to murder her husband Lijeesh in Attingal on April 16, 2014.

Thiruvananthapuram district sessions judge V. Shircy, who found the accused guilty of various offences, including murder and attempt to murder on Thursday, will pronounce the sentence on Monday.

Special prosecutor V.S. Vineeth Kumar pleaded for death penalty for both the accused considering the case as rarest of rare because murders were committed for gratification of lust. The court also rejected a petition of Nino’s lawyer to hear the pleas of Nino’s wife to give the accused a chance to reform and take into consideration their child’s future. While Anu Shanthi’s lawyer pleaded for leniency citing that there was no evidence to prove her intention to murder her daughter or mother-in-law, Nino’s lawyer pleaded that there was no direct evidence to prove the brutality of the murder and hence death penalty should not be awarded.

Apart from murder and attempt to murder under IPC Sections 302 and 307 respectively, the accused were also found guilty of criminal conspiracy under IPC 120-B, trespass under IPC 449, tampering with evidence under IPC 201, among others.