Sherin John killed his father seemingly over a property dispute, police said.
Highlights
- Sherin John confessed to killing his father Joy V John last week
- He shot his father, cut his body into pieces and scattered them around
- Police said a property dispute most likely led to the crime
A 36-year-old IT professional in Kerala allegedly killed his father, chopped his body into pieces and dumped them at various locations.
The police say Sherin John, who worked for a company in IT hub Technopark, confessed to killing his father Joy V John last week, burning his body in the basement and cutting it in pieces to hide the crime.
Mr John, 68, lived in the US and had come to Kerala to visit his ancestral home near Chengannur, 110 km from Thiruvananthapuram.
The father and son had long fought over property.
Sherin told the police that he shot his father four times after hearing an often-repeated comment from him: "As long as I am alive, I will not give you a penny."
Based on Sherin's statement, the police searched various places and found a portion of a limb, head and some other body parts.
"The recovered body parts will be sent for DNA testing and other scientific analysis. As per our preliminary investigation, property dispute between the father and son had led to the murder," Alappuzha District police chief B Asok Kumar said.
Mr John had been missing since last Wednesday, when he had gone out with Sherin to have an air-conditioner repaired.
When they did not return for hours, Mr John's wife Mariamma filed a missing complaint with the police.
During interrogation, Sherin allegedly confessed to the gruesome murder.