A woman strangled her 14-year-old son, burnt his body and dumped his charred remains near her house
Highlights
- Woman killed her son following an argument, filed missing report next day
- She burnt body at the backyard of her house, police say
- The father of the child claims that his wife was "mentally unstable"
A 14-year-old boy in Kerala was strangled by his own mother, who burnt his body and dumped his charred remains near their home in Kollam, the police said yesterday.
The next day, Jaya Mol went with her husband Job John to the police to file a missing report for the teenager, Jithu Job.
The police noticed far too many contradictions in her story. Jaya Mol could not explain why she had burn marks on her hand. Then Jithu's slipper was found behind the house.
A search on Wednesday led the police to the body of the Class 9 student about 200m from the Jobs' two-storey house. As the body was taken away on a stretcher, scores of villagers watched, many in disbelief.
After several hours of interrogation, 42-year-old mother confessed to a chilling crime that has left relatives and neighbours in shock.
During an argument, she allegedly lost her temper and strangled her son with her dupatta. She took his body to the backyard, the police say, burnt the body with dry leaves and coconut fibre, threw the burnt remains over the boundary wall and then dragged it away from the house.
"She confessed that she dragged his body to the rear of her compound, burnt it and threw it across the wall. She then dragged the body from right outside the compound wall few metres away," Kollam police commissioner A Sreenivas told NDTV.
As Jaya Mol was being led away by the police on Thursday, a crowd threw stones at her and shouted abuses.
Jithu Job had just returned from his paternal grandmother's home when he and his mother fought in the kitchen. It is not known what he said that provoked his mother, but Job John - he was very close to his son - told reporters that his wife was "mentally unstable".
When Job John returned home on Monday, Jaya said their son had gone to the shop to buy stationery. After several hours, the next morning, the couple went to the police.