Thiruvananthapuram: A lower court in Thiruvananthapuram found two youths from the famed tourist destination Kovalam guilty of drugging, raping and murdering a Latvian woman who had arrived as a tourist in Kerala in April 2018, on Friday. The court later posted the case for announcing the quantum of punishment for the two convicts, Umesh and Udayan, on Monday.
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.
Later, the accused allegedly drugged her, raped her, attempted to drown her and later strangled her to reportedly make it appear like a suicide.
The incident raised questions about the safety of foreign tourists in the state. It also shook Kerala's tourism department.
Even though the police launched a manhunt, it was on April 20, 2018 that the victim's highly decomposed body was found in a marshy area near the famed Kovalam tourist destination. An autopsy pointed to strangulation.
Following the subsequent probe, the police arrested two local youths, Umesh and Udayan, who are relatives and were functioning as unregistered guides. Both did not have a clean track record.
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Umesh and Udayakumar, who were school dropouts, had a history of violence, sexual assault and drug abuse.
Incidentally, following a request from the victim's sister, IIzie, the court allowed her to watch the trial online as her visit visa had expired and she could not travel to India.
(With IANS inputs)