Elderly woman found dead

A 68-year-old woman was strangled to death at her residence in Ambattur, on Tuesday afternoon.

The gold jewellery she was wearing was stolen by the killer, the police said.

The victim was identified as Nirmala Gurunathan, a homemaker, who lived with her husband, Gurunathan (72), a retired Chennai Port Trust employee, on Pandian Street, Prakash Nagar, in Vijayalakshmipuram.

Around 2 p.m., she went to the first floor of the house to show the portion, meant for rent, to an unidentified man posing as a prospective tenant.

“When she didn’t return, Gurunathan went up and find her lying unconscious. Gold jewellery weighing nearly nine sovereigns was missing from her person. She was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead on arrival,” said the Ambattur police. The couple had decided to rent out the first floor of the house and spread the word among locals.

“We suspect a local autorickshaw driver of about 24 to be the prime suspect,” the police said.