Mangaluru man assaults wife with rolling pin, poisons her; gets life imprisonment for murder

Mangaluru: A third additional district and sessions court judge Sandhya S has sentenced a 53-year-old man from Chethana Nagara in Kumpala to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of assaulting, poisoning and murdering his wife.

Public prosecutor B Mohan Kumar said the convicted has been identified as Joseph Francis Renson alias Renson and the victim is Shyma.

Mohan Kumar said that the postmortem report proved crucial in the case. Dr Varsha A Shetty, Assistant Professor of Forensic department at Justice K S Hegde Hospital had in the report mentioned that Shyma died of serious head injuries.

Though children of the victim had turned hostile and informed that their mother had consumed poison, the medical report proved crucial in pronouncing judgement.

Public prosecutor said that the victim had repeatedly asked the accused, Joseph, to give up his bad habits. However, in response, the accused mentally harassed and physically abused her.

On May 11, 2022, at around 2:30 pm, while Shyma was at home, she once again insisted that he abandon his bad habits to which the accused who was unable to tolerate locked the bedroom door with the latch.

He then pushed his wife against the wall and brutally assaulted her using a rolling pin, inflicting serious injuries causing severe bleeding.

As Shyma collapsed on the floor, the accused wiped the blood from her ears using a white cloth to destroy evidence. Furthermore, in an attempt to make it appear as though she had consumed poison, he forcefully poured a pesticide into her mouth, which had been brought for spraying in the house.

Shyma, who was unconscious and severely injured, was taken to a hospital by her children in an auto-rickshaw. Despite receiving medical treatment, doctors declared her dead.

The court examined a total of 33 witnesses. After considering the evidence, records, and arguments, the court found the husband guilty.

Judge Sandhya S sentenced him to life imprisonment under Section 302 of IPC and slapped a fine of Rs 15,000. Under IPC section 498(A), he was sentenced to three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000.

Under IPC Section 201, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000. Additionally, the judge has directed the District Legal Services Authority to provide appropriate compensation to the victim’s father and two children.