Additional District Sessions Court in Thiruvananthapuram awarded life imprisonment to both the accused -- Umesh and Udayankumar -- in the rape and murder case of a Latvian woman. It was reported that the 33-year-old Latvian tourist was found missing from Varkala on March 14, 2018, and her body was found on April 20, 2018.
News agency ANI in a tweet said, "Thiruvananthapuram additional principal sessions court awards life imprisonment for both accused - Umesh and Udayankumar." The court also said that the accused should be imprisoned for their entire life.
Also read | Two Accused Found Guilty By Kerala Court In 2018 Latvian Woman Murder Case
Umesh and Udayankumar were declared as convicts on December 1 by the court. As reported earlier, the victim, her partner Andrew and sister Ilzie had arrived in Kerala for ayurvedic treatment at a facility in Thiruvananthapuram's outskirts when she went missing on March 14, 2018.
She was last seen hiring an auto-rickshaw to Kovalam. She was not carrying her passport or mobile phone with her when she went missing. The prosecution said, the woman with a history of clinical depression was reportedly invited for sharing white beedi, a local cigarette with marijuana.
The accused later allegedly drugged and raped the victim. They strangled her to reportedly make it appear like a suicide. The accused were reportedly functioning as unregistered guides. Both the accused, who are relatives, did not have a clean track record. They were school dropouts and had a history of violence, sexual assault and drug abuse.