A 65-year-old man allegedly stabbed his 60-year-old wife to death late on Tuesday night and committed suicide a few hours later at their home in Rangam Banjara village in Thallada mandal early on Wednesday.
The exact motive behind the “gruesome murder” could not be determined immediately. However, the police suspect that the old man, identified as S Subramanyeshwara Rao, was suffering from some underlying "psychological issues."
Stab injuries
He allegedly attacked his wife Vijayalakshmi with a knife inflicting grievous stab injuries on her neck on Tuesday night. She succumbed to profuse bleeding in the bedroom.
He is suspected to have spent the entire night at home with his wife’s body lying on the floor in a pool of blood in the bedroom before ending his life by consuming pesticide in the early hours of Wednesday, police sources said.
Found unconscious
According to police, a local milkman found Subramanyeshwara Rao in an unconscious state with froth oozing out of his mouth in the front room and his wife’s body lying in the blood-spattered bedroom early on Wednesday.
Rao died while being shifted to the hospital in Thallada midway a little later.
Quoting some relatives of the deceased couple, the police said Rao had been exhibiting "abnormal behaviour" for the past few weeks.
Well-settled children
The two daughters of the deceased couple are well settled with their families, one in the United States and another in Ramagundam of Peddapalli district, a police officer investigating the case told The Hindu .
The couple owns around five acre agricultural land, leased out for paddy cultivation, and as such they had no financial issues, he said.
The gold ornaments and other valuables of the deceased couple were found intact in their home, he said ruling out the possibility of murder for gain.
(Roshini - Suicide Prevention Helpline: 040-66202000)
