Kerala snakebite murder
A murder case in Kerala’s Kollam district involved a live snake. Uthra, a 25-year-old woman, died on May 7, 2020, after a cobra bite while she slept at her parents’ home in Anchal. She had earlier been severely bitten by a Russell’s viper in March 2020 and was recovering in bed.
Her husband, Sooraj S. Kumar, then 27, a bank employee, was arrested and confessed to buying two snakes and bringing a live cobra into their bedroom to kill his wife. He said he gave Uthra sleeping pills to sedate her and starved the cobra for 11 days to ensure a bite. The police said he planned to gain from Uthra’s gold dowry and life insurance.
Snake expert Vava Suresh examined the case and testified that it would be hard for the cobra to enter an air-conditioned room or reach the second-floor bedroom, suggesting the snake was used on purpose.
Sooraj was charged with murder and related offenses. Investigations also led to other family members being arrested for destroying evidence and conspiracy. Police found missing gold from Uthra’s bank locker and recovered 38 sovereigns of gold from a rubber plantation.
In July 2020, Sooraj publicly confessed to the murder. The case was pursued by a Kerala police special investigation team, which said Sooraj would be the main accused and that other relatives would face separate charges.
On October 13, 2021, the Kollam sessions court found Sooraj guilty of murder. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison, plus two consecutive life terms, and fined 5 lakh rupees. The court noted that this was the first case in Kerala where a murder used a live animal as the weapon.
The death received widespread attention and was studied in criminology for its unusual use of a snake in the crime. A cobra carcass was sent for forensic testing, and DNA analysis of the snake was considered in the investigation.
Uthra had been married for about two years and was a mother to a one-year-old son. Her father had raised concerns about foul play a week after her death, prompting the police investigation.
In 2025, a Malayalam film inspired by the case, titled Rajakumari, was announced, with Athmiya Rajan portraying a character based on Uthra.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:54 (CET).