Accused gave contradicting statements in Latvian woman murder case: Cops

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bereft of any eyewitness or digital evidence, the police had to rely only on circumstantial evidence to nab the accused in the Latvian tourist murder case. The first thing that the investigators did was to survey the whole area surrounding the place where her body was found.

The body was found in five cents of mangrove forest, which was surrounded by another 14 acres of uninhabited marshy land. They mapped the houses near the wasteland and took details of the inhabitants.

Several people, who used to get together in the marshy area to play cards or consume liquor, were questioned. Residents told the police officers that only Udayan, Umesh and their friends used to enter the place where the body was found as it was located in a remote part of the plot, close to the backwaters.

J K Dinil, the Fort assistant commissioner when the crime occurred, said police found contradictions in the statements of Udayan and Umesh. It was also found that the accused dissuaded their friends from checking the place when they were told that a foul smell was emanating from the place.

“They said it could be the carcass of stray dogs,” Dinil said. More circumstantial evidence came up, which cemented the police assessment that the murder was committed by the two.