An Indian court has found a man guilty of murdering his wife and mother of their one-year-old child with a venomous snake that he planted in her bedroom while she was asleep.
Soraaj S. Kumar, 28, was found guilty of murdering his wife Uthra, 25, by the Kollam Additional Sessions Court in Kerala in India yesterday, 11th October.
The length of his sentence is expected to be announced tomorrow, 13th October.
The motivation for the murder was financial with Kumar hoping to kill his wife, take her valuables, and then marry another woman, the court heard.
The news site India Today reported that Kumar purchased the snake in the district of Kollam from a snake handler identified only as Suresh who has also been arrested.
He placed the snake in his wife’s bedroom and she was found dead on 7th May 2020. An investigation was launched that concluded with yesterday’s court ruling.
Uthra was killed by her husband Sooraj using a cobra, in May, 2020, he was found guilty by a court in Kollam district, India, on 13th October. (Newsflash) 
Uthra, (middle) pictured with her parents,was killed by her husband Sooraj using a cobra, in May, 2020, he was found guilty by a court in Kollam district, India, on 13th October. (Newsflash)
Kumar was arrested and he reportedly confessed that on the night of the murder he drugged his wife with sleeping pills and then planted the cobra in her bedroom.
The police carried out an autopsy on both Uthra and the cobra.
The results revealed that the snake that Kumar allegedly placed in the room was responsible for biting and killing his wife.
It is unclear what charges the snake handler is facing.
Reports did not state who has been given custody of the couple’s one-year-old child.
Sooraj, pictured after his arrest, was found guilty of killing his wife Uthra using a cobra, in May, 2020, by a court in Kollam district, India, on 13th October. (Newsflash) 
Sooraj, (right) pictured after his arrest, was found guilty of killing his wife Uthra using a cobra, in May, 2020, by a court in Kollam district, India, on 13th October. (Newsflash)
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Story By: Peter Barker, Sub-Editor: Lee Bullen, Agency: Newsflash
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