Well planned murders

Eight years after the state witnessed one of its most chilling mass murders, the drama behind the whole episode is gradually unraveling.

- Varsha Somaraj

Finding the sole accused Cadell Jeansen Raja guilty, the Additional Sessions Court Thiruvananthapuram termed the crime "grave, serious, and numbing to the conscience." It observed that the accused, who planned and executed the murders of his parents, sister and relative, does not deserve leniency of a well-functioning legal system.

Charged with murder, arson and destruction of evidence, Cadell had tried everything to blur the line between calculated cruelty and supposed delusion. From claiming to be an astral traveler to adopting erratic behavior in prison, he spun a narrative to confuse, delay and evade. But bit by bit, the mask fell off.