Man confesses to killing 19-year-old girlfriend in drunken rage

THE mysterious death of a 19-year-old woman, whose decomposed body was found near her home after she went missing last week in Malayattoor village here, has now been confirmed as a murder, after her 21-year-old boyfriend, Alan, confessed to his crime, police said on Wednesday.

An aviation graduate student studying in Bengaluru, Chithrapriya, went missing from her home on Saturday evening. Her body was then discovered in a deserted field about one kilometre from her residence on Tuesday, police said.

Alan has been taken into custody by officials of the Kalady police station after he admitted to killing the girl by striking her on the head with a stone while under the influence of alcohol.

During the interrogation, Alan confessed that the crime was committed in the wee hours of Sunday during a dispute. Police officials informed that the confession came after crucial CCTV footage showed Chithrapriya travelling on a bike with Alan around 1.53 AM, with another biker seen following them.

Initially, Alan had told police that he dropped Chithrapriya off on his bike and was released after questioning. However, after the body was discovered, he was retaken into custody and subjected to sustained interrogation, during which he broke down and confessed to the crime.

Police said a comprehensive investigation is underway to reconstruct the sequence of events and determine whether any other individuals were involved. The post-mortem examination has been completed, and the final report is awaited to confirm the cause of death.