A 31-year-old man murdered his wife by slitting her throat, and then set himself ablaze outside his house on Ambedkar Street in Chinnandimadam, Kodungaiyur, on Saturday.
The couple’s younger daughter suffered minor burns, but is now stable.
The Kodungaiyur police identified the couple as Senthil Kumar, a tender coconut seller, and Kalaiarasi (29), who worked as a collection agent with a local cable TV sub-operator. They had three children.
“Senthil suspected his wife of having an affair with a man at work, and often quarrelled with her. On Saturday, in a fit of rage, he killed her while she was asleep. He then stepped out of the house with a can of kerosene and set himself afire,” the police said.
Neighbours ran in and doused the flames and rushed Senthil to Kilpauk government hospital where he died of burn injuries on Saturday evening.
The police recovered Kalaiarasi’s body and sent it for post-mortem to Stanley government hospital.
Suicide prevention helpline Sneha can be contacted on 044-24640050.
