MADURAI: A three-year-old boy was found murdered near Radhapuram in Tirunelveli district on Monday.

The deceased has been identified as V Sanjay of Athukurichi village, sources said. Much to the shock of his parents and relatives, the victim’s body was found inside a washing machine inside the house of Thangammal (49), a neighbour. Earlier, Sanjay spent his time playing in front of the house, but all of a sudden, his parents, who wanted to take him to Anganwadi, found him missing.

After hours of searching, his parents sought help from Radhapuram police to trace the boy. The police were involved in a door to door search at the village and while entering Thangammal’s house, she ran away to evade police.

However, she was nabbed and arrested. Investigations revealed that Thangammal suffocated the boy leaving him dead, stuffed the body inside a gunny bag and dumped it in the washing machine.

There was enmity between Thangammal and the victim’s parents over drawing tap water on the street and it resulted in the killing of the boy. Based on a complaint, Radhapuram police filed a case and arrested the woman, sources said.