Triple murder rocks City

Triple murder rocks City
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Close on the heels of the killing of an elderly couple, a triple murder has been reported in the City on Tuesday evening.

Three women — Satyabhama (82), her daughter Vijayalaxmi (59), and daughter-in-law Jayashree Manjunath (50) — were smothered to death at their residence at Jayanagar 4 ‘T’ Block.

Incidentally, the latest crime appears to have taken place just half a kilometre from the scene of the double murder, leaving the police baffled.

It is suspected that the murders must have taken place around 1 pm. All the three bodies bear injury marks on the temple and on the eyebrows. The killers seem to have smothered the women to ensure their death. None of the neighbours seems to have noticed anyone entering the house or heard any cry for help.


Satyabhama had been residing with daughter-in-law Jayashree and grandson Shreyas (12) at the house for the last nine years after the death of her son Manjunath. Shreyas was in school when the crime took place. Sreeranjini, a II BSc student and a relative, who came to the house, found the bodies. She immediately called the police. The family were preparing for the upanayanam of Shreyas scheduled for February. Vijayalakshmi is supposed to have dropped in, to go shopping later.

Police rule out murder for gain or the hand of professionals. Burst of anger, property dispute, family rivalry angles are looked into and it is believed that the killers were known to the victims, as there is no indication of forced entry into the house.

Killers have first attacked Jayashree with a coconut and a blunt object and later smothered to her death. Satyabhama was also killed in a similar way. A gold chain and mobile phone belonging to Jayashree is missing. Police believe that after the two were eliminated and when the killers were searching cupboards, Vijayalakshmi might have entered the house. She also met the same fate.


The body of Vijayalakshmi bore more head injuries than the other two, police suspect.
Jayashree had taken VRS from her job as PA to the technical director at NTC three years ago and was working for a finance company since then.

Active investor

She was also into small-time money-lending and was an active investor in stocks and shares.
She had built a house in Nagarbhavi but was staying with her aged mother-in-law in the house, located in 4th T Block, Jayanagar.

Shreyas has told the police that their maidservant had quit the job a fortnight ago due to some misunderstanding.

On Tuesday morning, before he left home for school, his mother was busy cooking and talking on the mobile phone.

Shivaprasad, a neighbour told Deccan Herald, “We have been neighbours for 40 years.”
“This is a calm locality and people rarely move around”.

He also said that he had not heard anything.
In the last 10 days, ten murder cases have been registered and police are perplexed at the rising crime figures