Woman killed, robbed of ornaments

KOLLAM:  In a gruesome murder for gain, a 78-year-old housewife, Lakshmikuttyamma, was hacked to death at her house in Puthur on Wednesday. One man has been taken into custody by the police in connection with the incident. Police said the culprits had even sliced away the right ear of the housewife to take away the earring she was wearing. Following her husband’s death, Lakshmikuttyamma was living alone in her house while her daughter lived in the adjacent house. Food was served to her every day by her daughter. It was while bringing lunch shortly after 12 noon that the daughter saw her mother lying in a pool of blood inside the bedroom. She raised an alarm and neighbours who rushed to the scene took her to the Kottarakara Taluk Hospital. But she could not be saved.