Man sentenced to death for murdering pregnant woman in Kerala's Alappuzha
Alappuzha(PTI): A court here on Monday sentenced a man to death for murdering a pregnant woman at Kainakary in the district.
Additional District and Sessions Court Judge Suhaib M sentenced Prabeesh (36), a native of Nilambur, to death and imposed a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh for murdering Anitha Sasidharan (32) of Punnapra, Alappuzha, on July 9, 2021.
The court also found Rejani (38), a native of Kainakary, guilty in the case, but her sentence was not pronounced as she is currently lodged in a jail in Odisha following her arrest in a narcotics case.
A warrant has been issued for her production from the Odisha jail.
The sentence will be announced after hearing her as part of the legal procedure, police said.
The court awarded Prabeesh the death penalty and a fine of Rs 1 lakh under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.
He was also sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy).
Additionally, he was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence).
The court acquitted both accused of the charge under Section 316 of IPC (causing the death of an unborn child).
The death penalty is subject to confirmation by the Kerala High Court.
“Upon execution of the death sentence, the custodial sentence shall lapse. In case the death sentence is commuted or remitted by the appropriate authorities, the accused will be entitled to set off the period of detention already undergone from July 13, 2021 till today,” the court order stated.
Following the verdict, Prabeesh was shifted to the Kannur Central Prison.
The court directed that the fine amount, if recovered, be paid to the father and children of the deceased and instructed the District Legal Services Authority to ensure compensation under the Kerala Victim Compensation Scheme.
“By their act, the accused extinguished two lives: that of Anitha, and that of the foetus that had developed for five months. The life of the unborn child, who had every possibility of survival and growth had the pregnancy continued, was also destroyed,” the court observed.
The court held that the offence fell under the “rarest of rare” category, warranting the death penalty.
“Having considered the totality of circumstances, and upon weighing the aggravating factors, and especially in the absence of mitigating circumstances, I hold that this case falls within the purview of the rarest of rare cases, where the lesser alternative is unquestionably foreclosed,” the judgment said.
Anitha’s body was found floating in the Pookaitha River near the Aryanthodu Bridge in Kainakary on July 10, 2021.
According to the prosecution, Prabeesh was in a relationship with both Anitha, a mother of two children, and Rejani, who was also married.
When Anitha became pregnant, he allegedly pressured her to terminate the pregnancy.
Anitha, who worked at a farm in Alathoor, Palakkad, was called to Rejani’s house, where the duo strangled her on July 9, 2021, and later dumped her body in the river.
During the trial, 82 witnesses were examined, and 131 documents and 53 material objects were produced as evidence.
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Armed man shot and killed after entering secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, US Secret Service says
Washington (AP): The US Secret Service announced Sunday that an armed man was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House during this incident. First lady Melania Trump was also with the president.
The name of the person who was shot has not been released. According to the Secret Service, he was “observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.” The incident took place at 1:30 am Sunday.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw, speaking at a brief press conference, said the man was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a sheriff's deputy.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position," Bradshaw said. The two agents and the deputy "fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”
The FBI asked residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.
The suspect, who was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, was reported missing a few days ago by his family. Investigators believe he left North Carolina and headed south, picking up a shotgun along the way, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, who added that the box for the gun was recovered in his vehicle.
Guglielmi said that the man drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting.
Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile and a motive is still under investigation. Asked whether the individual was known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”
The incident comes as the US has been rocked multiple times in recent years by political violence. Just last year, that included the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife, and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro.
The incursion on Saturday at Trump's Florida home is a few miles from his West Palm Beach golf club where a man tried to assassinate Trump while he played golf during the 2024 election. A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally in 2024. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Sunday.
