An Indian man confessed to strangling his wife to death, in front of their toddler, and disposing of her naked body in a suitcase.
The 22-year-old husband, identified only by his first name Rahul confessed to the murder and was arrested two days after the suitcase was found in the city of Gurugram, located about 20 miles from the national capital of New Delhi.
The victim, Priyanka, 20, was married in February 2021 to the accused, police said. The two were in love and reportedly tied the knot despite Priyanka’s family disapproving of their relationship, according to the Times of India.
Priyanka had also gotten a tattoo of her husband’s name on her forearm at some point in their marriage.
Rahul, a factory employee, told cops he used to have frequent fights with his wife about two months into their marriage. Priyanka wanted items like a TV set, cellphone, refrigerator and washing machine for the home, which Rahul could not afford, leading to arguments.
The couple had a scuffle Sunday that led to Priyanka slapping Rahul. The enraged husband then strangled his wife in front of their one-year-old son.
He then covered the deceased woman in a blanket and slept next to her body. He bought a suitcase the following day, stuffed Priyanka’s naked body inside, and disposed of it, according to the New Indian Express.
Rahul had left his son in his landlord’s care while discarding the young mother’s remains.
In an attempt to prevent cops from connecting him to the murder, Rahul removed part of the skin on Priyanka’s hand that had his name tattooed and took her clothes off before dumping the body.
Cops eventually discovered the suitcase and retrieved footage from CCTV cameras in the nearby area. They found Rahul, who confessed to murdering his wife during interrogation.
The man said he dumped the body in a suitcase after drawing inspiration from TV crime shows.
He threw the body because “he thought the police wouldn’t trace him,” a police officer said, as quoted by the Times of India. “We arrested Rahul on Wednesday and presented him before a court. He has been taken into police remand. We will investigate all aspects of the case and verify all the claims he is making. We will also interrogate locals of the area where they were living on rent.”
