A 13-year-old girl plotted the murder of her grandfather, guided killers – all teenagers – to his house and then watched on a video call as the 67-year-old was beaten, tied up and suffocated in Kerala. The chilling murder took place on the night of August 15 when the victim was alone at home.
The killers tied the elderly man’s hands and legs and stuffed a cloth in his mouth. They then assaulted him by hitting his head against a wall and eventually suffocating him to death with a cloth. For the rest of the family, a cruel fate unfolded during what was to be a joyous occasion. As the man’s body lay in the medical college mortuary for post-mortem examination, his younger daughter gave birth to a baby girl in the same hospital. His wife, who had been beside her daughter during the delivery, later walked from the maternity ward to the mortuary to see her husband for the last time.
On August 16, she returned to the neighbourhood and went twice to a nearby shop with younger children to buy packets of chips.
A day before, the victim’s younger daughter was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Alappuzha for childbirth, and his wife had gone to be with her, officials said. Officials said the victim’s granddaughter watched the murder live on a video call. Neighbours said there was no visible change in the girl’s behaviour. The next morning, she told people that her grandfather was not opening the door. A local shopkeeper said the girl told him she thought her grandfather had been drinking and was asleep.
