Nanthancode mass murder: Cadell Raja found quilty of killing four
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Thiruvananthapuram: A man from Kerala has been found guilty of brutally murdering four members of his own family in a chilling crime that took place eight years ago. The Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court-VI on Monday pronounced Cadell Jeanson Raja guilty of killing his father, mother, sister, and a relative at their residence in Nanthancode, near the Chief Minister’s official residence.
The court will hear arguments on the sentencing on Tuesday.
The murders occurred on April 9, 2017, when the bodies of Professor A Raja Thankam, his wife Dr Jean Padma (58), their daughter Caroline (26), and an elderly relative, Lalitha (70), were found at their home in the Baines Compound. Police investigations revealed that Raja, the son of the victims, was behind the killings. He was arrested two days later and has remained in custody since.
During interrogation, Raja told police that he was influenced by parapsychology and astral projection, and claimed that these beliefs motivated him to carry out the murders. However, the prosecution dismissed these assertions as a deliberate ploy to evade legal punishment, arguing that his actions were calculated and intentional.
Investigators said Raja had initially planned to kill only his father, citing long-standing emotional neglect, but later went on to murder the other three victims as well.
With PTI inputs