The city police on Thursday solved the murder of a 20-year-old youth using forensic facial reconstruction technique to identify the victim, whose decomposed body was found beneath a culvert near Kovalam on June 5, 2009.
Circle Inspector, Vizhinjam, Mohanan Nair, said the State Forensic Laboratory experts recreated the face of the youth using a combination of forensic science, anatomy and artistic imagination.
The police said the forensically recreated face matched that of Abhin who was reported missing from the Kovalam police station limits from May 30.
The police collected DNA samples from Abhin’s body. A scientific examination found that the DNA sample matched that of his parents.
Investigators learned that Abhin was constantly seen in the company of one Sumesh, a construction worker living at Chirayil, for the past one year.
Sumesh’s house is barely 150 m away from the spot where Abhin’s body was found. He is accused in several cases, including assault and drunken and riotous behaviour.
The police learned that Sumesh and Abhin were in the habit of abusing heroin and marijuana. They were also heavy drinkers and had been arrested for creating a drunken ruckus at a marriage party to which they were not invited.
The police said that Sumesh confessed under interrogation that he had killed Abhin for maligning his mother and sister. Abhin had sold his late father’s motorbike in June and spent the money on alcohol and drugs along with Sumesh. Abhin later demanded that Sumesh pay a portion of the money back. When he refused, Abhin insulted Sumesh by telling him that he would sexually exploit his relatives.
The police said that Sumesh lured Abhin to his house on May 29, got him drunk and killed him around midnight. He dumped the body in cavernous space beneath the culvert in the early hours of May 30.
Investigators said they have recovered the machete used for the murder. Assistant Commissioner, Fort, B. Krishnakumar headed the investigation.
