Charred bones and blood found in Kerala man’s home spark fears of serial killings

The investigation of murder charges against a 68-year-old man in Kerala has triggered fears of serial killings of women who lived alone or were socially isolated, as, besides the killing of a woman being probed, three others are missing. Sebastian C.M., 68, is being investigated by the Kerala Police for multiple disappearances after charred bone fragments and other things were found at his residence in Kerala’s Alappuzha district. While Sebastian is already accused of murdering a woman named Jainamma, two other missing women’s cases are also being probed.

The investigation into Jainamma’s case started after her husband Appachan filed a missing person’s report.

The Crime Branch probing Jainamma’s disappearance from Ettumanur in Kottayam arrested Sebastian from Pallipuram. The investigators then recovered charred human remains from the premises of Sebastian’s house at Pallipuram near Cherthala during digging.

20 charred bones, teeth, blood stains found in digging

The disturbing evidence includes around 20 charred human bone fragments, teeth, blood stains, women’s clothing, and a ladies’ bag. All items have been sent for forensic DNA testing.

The police suspect Sebastian targeted women who lived alone or were socially isolated.

Crime branch units from both Kottayam and Alappuzha are now probing whether Sebastian is also connected to the disappearances of two other women: Bindu Padmanabhan, missing since 2006, and Ayesha, who vanished in 2012.

Jainamma and Sebastian were reportedly known to each other for several years. The probe team zeroed in on Sebastian after Jainamma’s mobile phone location at the time of her disappearance was found to be his house. She had left her home to attend a prayer meeting.

Sebastian sold property worth crores of another woman who went missing

Sebastian is also a suspect in the disappearance of another woman, Bindhu Padmanabhan, 46, from Kadakarappally more than a decade ago. In May 2018, Bindhu’s brother, Praveen Kumar, lodged a missing complaint, saying his sister, who owned assets worth crores of rupees, had gone missing under mysterious circumstances a few years ago. He alleged that some real estate brokers had taken possession of her assets after forging documents.

The probe revealed that Sebastian and another person, T. Mini, alias Jaya, had sold assets owned by Bindhu after forging documents. As the investigation progressed, the police arrested Sebastian in connection with document forgery and illegal land deals.

The mystery deepened further when a 47-year-old man, who had been called for questioning in the case, was found dead at his home in June 2018.

‘Set up SIT to probe all cases, ensure justice,’ says council

An action council that has been campaigning for justice in Bindu’s case since 2017 is demanding that a special investigation team (SIT) be set up to probe all three cases and has raised concerns about whether Sebastian had any accomplices.

The case is drawing comparisons to serial killings and has triggered fear in the region as people brace for grimmer discoveries.