Woman held for murder of her 18-day-old infant

After the post mortem report revealed that the child’s skull was cracked in the rear, police grilled the mother, Celestin (23). She confessed that she murdered the infant because her husband Sathyaraj hid the truth about his first marriage.

Celestin and Sathyaraj got married after a love affair and the couple had been living at Singaravelan Nagar. While they already have an 18-month-old daughter, Celestin gave birth to their second more than a month ago. Celestin told police that she recently came to know that Sathyaraj, a construction worker, was already married and has a three-year-old child with his first wife Jayanthi, who lives in Velachery.

Celestin, who was not happy with her first daughter, was frustrated that the second child was also a girl and decided to kill her. On November 12, when no one was at home, she smashed the child’s head on the floor and killed her. Later, she staged a drama that the child fell unconscious while breast-feeding and died.

Police remanded Celestin in judicial custody.