Kerala: Husband found guilty of murdering wife with venomous snake

Sooraj had released a cobra into his wife's room to extract more dowry from her family

Sooraj S Kumar, a 28-year-old man from Kerala, who is accused of murdering his wife Uthra by forcing a cobra to bite her, has been found guilty by the Kollam Additional Sessions Court.

The sentencing will be announced on Wednesday. According to Onmanorama, the court noted that the crime was one of the 'rarest of the rare' cases.

The crime, which was committed on May 7, 2020, became known widely known as the 'Uthra murder case' and garnered international attention.

According to the case, Uthra died in her sleep at her parents' home in Anchal after she was bitten by a venomous snake. Her husband Sooraj, a bank employee, had released the cobra with the motive of extracting more dowry from her family.

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On the night of Uthra's death, she and Sooraj had gone to their room after dinner, the victim's mother had previously said. But the next morning, Sooraj, a late riser, woke up early and went out. When Uthra didn't wake up, her mother went into the room and found her lying unconscious. The cobra was later discovered and killed.

The couple had a one-year-old son together.