Suspect in Thrissur double murder case has dark criminal history; married second wife while on bail in case of murdering first wife 

THRISSUR: The man suspected in the brutal murder of his wife and mother-in-law in Padiyoor has a dark criminal history. Padiyoor native Rekha (43) and her mother Mani (74) were found murdered inside their house the other day. Near the crime scene, investigators recovered a letter containing offensive comments about Rekha, along with several photographs. With Rekha’s husband Premkumar missing since the incident, the investigation has now turned its focus on him.

Premkumar (46) is already an accused in the murder of his first wife. He married Rekha, a native of Thrissur, while out on bail in that case. The pattern of his marriages and illicit relationships reportedly mirrors the plot of the popular Tamil romantic film ‘96’.

Premkumar first married a woman named Vidya, a native of Cherthala. It was Vidya's second marriage. After marrying Premkumar, Vidya became estranged from her family in Cherthala. The couple, along with their son, later moved to Udayamperoor in Ernakulam.

While still married to Vidya, Premkumar rekindled a romantic relationship with his college classmate Sunitha Baby, a woman from Thiruvananthapuram. They reconnected during a college reunion, and their bond quickly deepened. The duo allegedly conspired to eliminate Vidya in order to start a life together.

Before killing Vidya, Premkumar relocated from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram. Sunitha was working as a nursing superintendent at a hospital there. She left her husband and children and moved in with Premkumar at a villa in Peyad, Thiruvananthapuram. Their relationship caused regular conflict in both households.

According to police, the murder of Vidya was carefully premeditated. Premkumar brought her to Thiruvananthapuram, allegedly under the guise of seeking treatment for an injury. Once there, he gave her alcohol, made her unconscious, and strangled her with a rope.

After the murder, Premkumar and Sunitha took Vidya’s body in a car to the Tirunelveli region in Tamil Nadu. To avoid detection, they staged the body to appear lifelike in the backseat, with Sunitha placing her arm around the corpse to make it seem like she was merely travelling with a companion.