Following the shocking double murder of a woman and her daughter in an apartment in the crowded streets of Saidapet on Wednesday, the police have nabbed their killer.

The deceased, Hemalatha Shanmugam and her daughter Jayalakshmi Shanmugam were found murdered in their apartment with injuries on their neck and back. Hemalatha was working as a stenographer at Anna University while her daughter was a final year student at Meenakshi Engineering College in KK Nagar. Hemalatha’s husband had died last year in a road accident.

Investigations have revealed that the murders were committed by none other than Hemalatha's son, Balamurugan, the police said.

Balamurugan had been missing when the police first visited the site of crime and his phone was switched off. On further inspection of the house, police found three cellphones and a laptop in a plastic bucket.

Motive

According to the inspector who is investigating the crime, "Balamurugan has been depressed for the last year, since his father passed away. He wanted to commit suicide, but he was worried about his sister and mother, so he killed them after they had an argument."

A security guard had informed the police that he was seen entering the apartment. When the police apprehended him from Kelambakkam where he had absconded to, Balamurugan reportedly confessed to the crime.

Balamurugan was working as a mechanical engineer in Shollinganallur.

“He used to stay with his mother and sister. But he wasn’t see any where after the murder,” the officer explains.

Police had suspected earlier that it was a family member who committed the crime as there were no signs of anyone forcibly entering the house. Moreover, no valuables were missing from the apartment.

The murder was discovered by Hemalatha’s younger sister Yasoda, who found the bodies. She had been trying to call her sister repeatedly on Wednesday evening, but she did not answer the call. She immediately called the neighbours and informed the police about the incident.