Mother Strangulates 6-Year-Old In Sleep, Burns Body After Fight With Husband

A woman strangulated her six-year-old son to death, burnt his body and then dumped the remains in a septic tank in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. According to reports, the incident took place Thursday after the mother had an argument with her husband.

The 27-year-old woman, identified by her first name Meenakshi, married her husband, Saravanan, seven years ago. They had frequent domestic disputes and during these times she used to leave her son at her parents' residence, local media reported. However, on the tragic day she arrived at her parents house after the fight but they turned her away.

The woman reportedly spent the night with her son at a room behind her parents' house. When her parents went to check on the duo the following morning they found that their daughter was missing. The parents suspected that something was wrong as they got a burnt foul smell from the septic tank. The family alerted police following which the child's charred remains were found in the tank.

An autopsy was conducted at the local Kilpauk Government Hospital, Times Now television reported.

“The face of the child had been completely burned and the dress of the child had been charred,” police sources reporetdly said.

Meenakshi returned home hours later and she confessed to have comitted the crime. In statement to police, the woman said that she strangulated her son while he was sleeping. She also said that she planned to kill herself by hanging after her son died. However, she feared killing herself and backed out of the plan.

Police charged the mother for murdering her six-year-old child, as police continue to investigate the incident.

In another incident that took place in the western Indian city of Pune, a woman killed herself after murdering her nearly two-year-old child. In a note, the woman said that she decided to end her life due to constant torturous behavior of her mother-in-law. The woman's husband, who is a police officer, and the mother-in-law were both taken into custody for questioning.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.