'Missing' case turns into sororicide

Sibling rivalry led to the murder of a 16-year-old girl by her brother at Kamblapadavu, on the outskirts of Mangaluru.

With this, the police were successful in cracking the case of a missing girl for the last 18 days, said Commissioner of Police Dr P S Harsha to mediapersons.

He said the victim is Fiona Sweedal Cutinha and the accused is Samson Cutinha (20). It was said that the victim along with her brother was at home on October 8. When her father returned home at around 1.30 pm, Fiona was not found in the house. Samson, in turn, had informed the family that she had gone to Mangaluru.

The family members had submitted a missing complaint suspecting kidnap on October 9.

The police had probed the case from all angles and noticed that Samson was giving misleading information to the police during the course of the investigation.

During the interrogation, he admitted of having murdered his sister by hitting her with a hammer, over a fight on a trivial issue.

After killing Fiona, he had dumped the body inside a forest area situated a few metres away from the house. As the region was experiencing heavy rain, the body did not come to the notice of anyone.

Harsha said that skeletal remains of the body were recovered from the spot. The forensic report is being sought to take the case to a logical end.

He said Samson, a dropout from engineering course, used to remain at home and was addicted to drugs.

He was upset that his parents Francis and Sunitha were doting Fiona. Issues like Fiona being served breakfast early and she being given good mobilephone was bothering Samson, who seized the opportunity to assault Fiona with a hammer.

The blow on her head proved fatal on October 8, killing her on the spot, said Dr Harsha.

“We have moved the court for police custody of Samson to know the sequence of events. The police will take the service of a psychologist, in case of necessity,” informed the commissioner.

The police are looking at all possible angles to know whether he was the only one who committed the crime and shifted the body for dumping.

Following the missing of the teenager, a delegation led by Catholic Sabha and her father Francis Cutinha had met DCP (Law and Order) Arunangshu Giri and had demanded the police to speed up the investigation. The Catholic Sabha of Mudipu had even warned of gheroaing the Konaje Police Station, if the police fail to trace the missing girl.