Published Sep 11, 2026 | 10:41 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 11, 2026 | 10:52 AM
One-year-old Anna was allegedly killed by her mother.
Synopsis: A fourth wedding anniversary turned into a day of unimaginable grief at a Vilavoorkal home in Thiruvananthapuram, where one-year-old Anna was allegedly killed by her mother. The child’s great-aunt, who discovered her inside the locked room, was the first to raise the alarm. Police are probing the circumstances, including suspected marital problems and the mother’s alleged suicide attempt.
On her fourth wedding anniversary on Thursday, 10 September, the young mother made a chilling statement. The statement was the least expected in a lifetime, and her husband’s aunt, Jacintha, took a while to digest it.
“I killed her, Kunjamma (aunt),” the mother, Christy, said a little past 4 on Thursday evening.
Once the message sank in, the older woman picked up her grand-niece, who was lying motionless, at Christy and her husband Abhijith’s residence near Ottayil, within the Malayinkeezhu police limits in Thiruvananthapuram. Jacintha has also been living with the family.
The child, Anna, was just one year old. She was initially taken to the nearby Primary Health Centre at Vilavoorkal, then to the Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. However, her life could not be saved.
Anna was Abhijith and Christy’s only child.
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Jacintha was already suspicious before Christy made the statement.
Christy being taken to the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
“The mother and child would usually sleep after lunch,” Jacintha told relatives and neighbours. “By around 3 pm, the child would wake up, and we could hear her playing. But today, even by 4 pm, there was no sound.”
A suspicious Jacintha went to check. She knocked on the closed door several times before Christy opened it.
The child was lying on the floor. Jacintha said she did not notice the injury at first. When she asked what had happened, Christy replied, “I killed her, Kunjamma.”
Jacintha immediately picked up the child and rushed out, screaming for help.
“Couldn’t she have given the baby to me? I would have raised her. I have no children of my own. Why did she do this?” Jacintha said, unable to contain her grief.
Neighbours who responded to her cries helped take Anna to the nearby health centre. As her condition was critical, they shifted her to Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital. By then, however, the child had succumbed to her injuries.
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The Malayinkeezhu police have taken Christy into custody. The woman was later shifted to the Medical College Hospital after she reportedly told police that she had consumed poison.
According to the preliminary police assessment, problems between Christy and her husband may have preceded the incident. Police were also looking into her statement that Abhijith had been suspicious of her and had objected to her visiting her family.
The couple had been married for four years and had their daughter three years after their marriage.
Thursday reportedly marked their fourth wedding anniversary.
Relatives and neighbours, however, said they were not aware of any serious marital problems between the two. Police were examining whether a quarrel between the couple earlier on Thursday was connected to the incident.
The family lived together in the house, including Abhijith, a medical representative; Christy, their daughter; Abhijith’s mother; and Jacintha.
Police said Christy had been staying at her parental home for the past few days and had recently returned to her husband’s house with the child.
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Preliminary information suggested that Christy allegedly intended to kill the child by slitting her throat before ending her own life. Police were examining her statement that she consumed poison after attacking Anna.
However, she panicked after seeing the child struggling and did not go ahead with the suicide attempt.
The police have seized articles from the room, including a knife and a blade. The police team that initially reached the house struggled to enter because two dogs were inside and no other family member was present. Officers entered the house after relatives arrived.
Police were also examining whether Christy was experiencing any mental health difficulties. Officers said they would investigate all angles.
The exact sequence of events leading to the child’s death has yet to be established. Police are recording statements from relatives and neighbours and collecting evidence from the house.
For Jacintha, however, the investigation could not answer the question that continued to haunt her as she stood outside the house where the child died.
“Why didn’t she give the baby to me?” she sobbed. “Wouldn’t I have raised her?”
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
