Meerpet murder case: Accused took nine hours to kill and dispose wife’s body

Rachakonda Police Commissioner G Sudheer Babu said it was the most gruesome murder case he had seen in his service. The suspect had no remorse on his act

Hyderabad: It took nearly nine long hours for Guru Murthy, the ex-serviceman, to chop the body of his wife Venkata Madhavi (35) into pieces and then dispose off, in their house in Jillelaguda in Meerpet.

Announcing Guru Murthy’s arrest in the murder case, Rachakonda Police Commissioner G Sudheer Babu on Tuesday said it was the most gruesome murder case he had seen in his service. The suspect had no remorse on his act.

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The Commissioner said Guru Murthy returned home with his wife after leaving their two children at his in-laws’ house on January 15. The next morning, he picked up an argument and slapped Venkata Madhavi, due to which she hit against the wall and collapsed to the floor.

“He strangled her to death and then decided to cover up the murder without leaving any traces of evidence. Using a kitchen knife, he chopped her hands and legs into smaller pieces and placed in a bucket. He then heated water using an immersible water heater, boiled the parts, and later burnt them on the single burner gas stove,” said Sudheer Babu.

The suspect then crushed the bones with a stone roller into powder and then flushed it down in the toilet several times. The bone pieces were kept in the trash bin, to be disposed of later.

“It took him about nine hours from 10 am to 6 pm to complete the chopping, boiling, burning and grinding process and disposing the body. He then cleaned the bathroom using detergent and phenyl to remove any traces of evidence. To minimise the foul smell while burning, he kept the doors and kitchen windows open,” the Commissioner said.

After disposing the body, Guru Murthy brought back the children and slept in the house.

Initially, the Meerpet police had booked a woman missing case and investigated. Upon examining the CCTV footage near the couple’s house, there was no evidence of Venkata Madhavi going outside. Over suspicion, Guru Murthy was taken into custody and he confessed to the killing.

The police seized a total of 16 materials used by the suspect including a stove, knife, roller and stone, water heater, mobile phone, detergent, room freshener, acid bottle and bucket.