AP man gets two life terms for 2018 Avadi double murder

Chennai: More than six years after the double murder of an aged couple at Avadi, a 28-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to imprisonment for life for each killing. The convict's wife, who was also part of the crime, died in 2020 and the murder charges against her were closed.
On Nov 27, 2018, S Jagadeesan, 67, and his wife J Vilasini, 58, were found dead at their residence on Sekkadu Main Road, Avadi, with valuables including gold jewellery missing.
The deaths came to light only after a neighbour informed Jagadeesan's brother S Gopinath, 60, who lived nearby, on Nov 27, 2018 that the house doors were ajar. Inside, the couple were lying dead and the bodies showed signs of violent assault. Several of the couple's belongings, including 70 sovereigns of gold jewellery worth nearly 44 lakh, were missing. A probe led to the arrest of the prime suspect, Suresh Rangarao, 28, from Andhra Pradesh, and his wife Poovalakshmi, 25. They were living in an outhouse on the same property and worked as caretakers for the aged couple. Suresh befriended Jagadeesan and joined as a gardener only 15 days before the murders.
At the trial before additional district sessions court in Poonamallee, police established that accused couple planned and executed the murders in a cold-blooded manner, and that they attacked the couple with a blunt object. Police also recovered a blood-stained wooden object from the crime scene.
During the course of the trial, Poovalakshmi died in March 2020, and hence the charges against her were closed. On Tuesday, the court convicted Suresh for the double murder and awarded him life imprisonment for each of the crimes.
Avadi commissioner of police K Shankar commended the team of police personnel for their diligence in bringing the case to a successful conclusion.