He had married a Christian in 1987 and has a son from this marriage. However, differences cropped up between them when his wife forced him to get converted to Christianity.

They mutually ended their relation after few years, sources informed. In 1992, he married Manjula and had two sons from her. She lives in Uppala. He then married Sridevi Rai from whom he had one daughter and a son, who live in Derlakatte. He has been living with his second and third wives.

His criminal antecedents can be traced back to 2000 when a case of attempt to murder was booked against him.

He had lured a girl to marry him and on refusal he had tried to push her off Nethravathi bridge in Dharmasthala. He was handed over to the police by the locals who witnessed the crime. The case was dismissed by the court for insufficient evidence.

Superintendent of Police Subramanyeshwar Rao said that his second and third wives were unaware of his ‘source of livelihood’, as they had never questioned him as to how he had been sustaining the family.

Modus operandi

The modus operandi of the offender was to identify a victim and approach her saying that she resembled someone he knew. He would then strike a conversation about her caste and family background.

If the woman was unmarried, he would to marry her without dowry. He would then pursue those who responded positively to his overtures by making calls and meeting them in different places.

He would eventually kill  the women by poisoning them with cyanide usually within three months of the meeting.

Not a psychopath

IGP Gopal Hosur said that Mohan was not a psychopath and was aware of his crimes. He had killed the victims with the intention of quenching his sexual urge and to gain jewellery for his livelihood.

His target was to get two to three victims every month and he set his eyes on women from lower middle class families, who had adequate amount of jewellery with which he could sustain a living.

Of the 18 girls, five were from Kasargod and 13 from Dakshina Kannada district, of which four were from Bantwal, two from Sullia, three from Puttur, one from Mudabidri, two from Belthangady and one from Mangalore.

He had killed 10 out of 18 in Mysore, three in Madikeri, two in Hassan, two in Bangalore and one in Kollur.

Victims’ details

*Baby Naik (25), Peraje
*Sharada (34), Puttur
*Kaveri (30), Sampaje
*Pushpa (26)
*Vinuta (24), Puttur
*Hemavathi (34), Bantwal
*Anita (22), Bantwal
*Yashoda (26), Madanthyar
*Vijayalakshmi (26), Kasargod
*Sarojini (27), Uppala
*Shashikala (28), Bantwal
*Sunanda (25), Sullia
*Leelavathi (32), Vamadapadau
*Shantha (35), Kankanady, Mangalore
*Vanita (22), Melyadi
*Sujata (28), Bajpe

Meanwhile, the offender claims to have forgotten the names of two victims, who hail from Perla in Kasargod.