Man Allegedly Kills Wife by Throwing Cobra on Her as She Slept

A man has been arrested after allegedly killing his wife by throwing a cobra on her as she slept. According to a report from TooFab, 27-year-old P. Sooraj of Kerala, India is accused of procuring a black cobra from a local snake handler, and placing it in bed with his 25-year-old wife Uthura. She had to be rushed to the hospital, where she was eventually pronounced dead.

The incident came just two months after Sooraj allegedly placed a viper in Uthura’s room, which caused her to be bitten. She was still recovering from the initial snake bite at her parents’ home when the cobra bite took her life. “Sooraj stayed in the same room as Uthra as if nothing had happened,” read a statement from police statement. “He was going about his morning routine the next day when he was alerted by Uthra’s mother’s screams. After the discovery was made, Soorja reportedly killed and buried the cobra.

According to local authorities, phone records showed that Sooraj had been in contact with snake handlers and that he had been doing research on snakes — including watching snake videos — online. The Daily Star reports that Uthra’s parents started to grow suspicious of Sooraj when, just days after her death, he attempted to take ownership of his Uthura’s property. “Sooraj feared that divorcing Uthra would mean giving back all the dowry. That’s when he decided to kill her,” the police statement read.

“After preliminary investigations, we found that it was a well-planned crime. He told us he had been planning for over five months,” the police statement also added. Sooraj allegedly bought a highly venomous Russell’s viper from a snake handler in Match, which was said to have been used in his first attempt killing his wife. Notably, police have stated that they also arrested the snake handler who Sooraj allegedly purchased the snakes from. It was reported that he paid 10,000 rupees — which equals about $131USD — for the cobra. Sooraj and Uthra had been married for two years and shared a one-year-old son together. There is no word on the current guardianship of the child, but it is presumed he is with family.