A bride only two years into her marriage found that married life wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Her husband, dissatisified with the arrangement, went to extreme measures to rid himself of what he thought was an unfavorable marriage.
Suraj Kumar and wife Uthra, who went by just her first name, were set up by a matchmaking service in India. The couple got married in March 2018, and at first, everyone seemed happy with the arrangement.
Kumar was looking to improve his financial standing with his marriage to Uthra. Her parents were interested in her being with a man who would take care of their daughter, who struggled with a learning disability. They never imagined that their daughter would die of what appeared to be a snake bite at 25 years old. When it did happen, however, the family felt in their gut that there was more to the story — and that her husband was behind it.
At the time of the marriage, Uthra's family wanted to make sure she'd be well taken care of.
"We wanted to find someone who would make her happy," Uthra's brother, Vishu, told CNN.
"She was a girl who was a little different. She had a learning disability. We wanted a man who could take care of her."
Suraj Kumar came from humble beginnings, the son of an auto-rickshaw driver and a housewife. Kumar accepted a dowry of 720 grams of gold, a Suzuki sedan, and 500,000 rupees (about $6,700) when he married Uthra. A few months into the marriage, Kumar's parents wanted even more.
Kumar's parents had a list of demands. They wanted Uthra's parents to pay for household appliances, a car, furniture, renovation work, and admission fees for an MBA course for Kumar's sister. Uthra tried to support their wishes because, her family believed, she didn't know any better.
"Uthra was someone who never saw bad in anyone," Vishu said.
"Her learning disability meant she didn't have the means to see that she was being used."
Uthra's father reluctantly met the demands and even began paying Kumar 8,000 rupees (about $107) monthly for caring for Uthra.
It was evident that Kumar was still dissatisfied with the marriage. In late 2019, he began to develop a deep interest in snakes. He started watching YouTube videos of handlers dealing with incredibly venomous snakes.
In February 2020, Kumar bought a deadly Russell's viper for 10,000 rupees ($135). He left the snake on the staircase of his home and tried to force a situation where Uthra would encounter it, such as asking her to fetch things for him from different areas of the home.
"But he failed in the attempt since Uthra saw the snake and raised alarm calls," the judgment shares.
Kumar captured the snake and kept it hidden, waiting until March 2 to try again. He mixed sedatives into a sweet bowl of Indian rice pudding for his wife. Then, as Uthra slept, he got the snake to bite her. He immediately got rid of it, and after some time of Uthra screaming in "excruciating pain," he took her to the hospital.
At the hospital, Kumar told authorities Uthra was out washing clothes after dusk, a claim she refuted. She spent 52 days in Pushpagiri Hospital in the Kerala town of Thiruvalla recovering from the bite. She was released into her parents' care on April 22, 2020, but she was unable to walk.
On May 6, Kumar snuck a cobra into Uthra's parents' home. Before bed, Kumar gave Uthra a glass of juice laced with sedatives. While she was sleeping, Kumar threw the cobra at her. The snake didn't bite, so he grabbed its head and forced its fangs into her arm twice. The resulting bites left unnatural marks that were one of many clues that led investigators to recognize his involvement.
"Cobras generally do not bite unless they are highly provoked. And after 8 pm they're generally dormant," said Hari Shankar, an assistant inspector general for Kerala police who served as lead investigator in the case.
Kumar pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. Still, he was convicted of four offenses, including murder and attempted murder.
Kumar was sentenced to two life sentences for his crimes. It does little to comfort the family, but their focus is now on the couple's 2-year-old son. They are raising him to make sure he knows he was loved by his mother.
