The police have released the image of the suspect in the murder of Sister Amala at Lisieux Carmelite Convent, Pala.
According to the lookout notice, the suspect is Sathish Babu alias Sathish Nair (38), Mezhuvathattumkal House, Kuttikkote, Munnad village, Kasaragod.
According to the police, the suspect, who dresses decently, is fair and is in the habit of taking liquor right from morning. He is known to have been involved in similar cases earlier and as such is considered emotionally disturbed.
The police had identified the person at the early stage of investigation as his mobile phone (stolen from another convent earlier) was identified in the vicinity of the Carmelite convent on the fateful night. The police identified him by tracing the last few calls made from the phone. These include one of his relatives and a few friends.
In spite of zeroing in on the suspect, the police have not been able to link some of the crucial evidences, like the spade which was found at the bottom of a staircase a few days into the investigation, that too cleaned up, or the decision of the convent inmates to clean the face of the victim and change her dress before informing the police, with the crime.
The body of Sr. Amala was found in a pool of blood on her bed in her room at the convent last Thursday.
