A six-day search for 35-year-old P Venkata Madhavi, who was reported missing in Hyderabad, ended in a shocking revelation when her husband, Gurumurthy, confessed to murdering her.
He confessed to dismembering her body, cooking the remains in a pressure cooker, and discarding them at multiple locations, including the Jillellaguda lake.
However, the police have yet to recover any body parts and are in the process of verifying the claims made by 45-year-old Gurumurthy, an ex-serviceman from Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh.
“We are verifying his claims, and as of now, we have not found any body parts. The investigation is progressing,” The Indian Express quoted Ch Praveen Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, L B Nagar as saying.
Gurumurthy works as an outsourced security guard at the DRDO facility in Kanchan Bagh.
From complaint to confession
Puttavenkata Madhavi disappeared on January 16 following a heated argument with her husband, Gurumurthy. Her mother, Subamma, lodged a police complaint on January 18, initiating an investigation.
Meerpet Inspector Nagara said that Madhavi left home following the argument, which led to a search that culminated in Gurumurthy's shocking confession.
At first, Gurumurthy, along with his in-laws, filed a police complaint, claiming that his wife had walked out of their Meerpet residence on January 16 after the dispute.
{{/usCountry}}At first, Gurumurthy, along with his in-laws, filed a police complaint, claiming that his wife had walked out of their Meerpet residence on January 16 after the dispute.
{{/usCountry}}As the police continued their search, suspicions grew around Gurumurthy, leading to further questioning, during which he allegedly confessed to the crime.
The couple had been having frequent arguments, with the last one revolving around Madhavi's wish to visit her hometown, Nandyal, for Sankranti. At the time, their two children were staying with Gurumurthy's sister.
Body parts cooked, bones crushed
Police say the suspect attempted to conceal his crime after killing his wife. He is accused of dismembering her body in the bathroom, cooking the parts in a pressure cooker, crushing the bones with a pestle, and then boiling them once more.
The suspect is said to have cooked his wife's remains for three days before disposing of them in a nearby lake, packing the flesh and bones into a bag.
The couple, married for 13 years, had been living in Venkateswara Colony with their two children for the past five years.