KOTTAYAM: I was under pressure to retract the statements, said Sr Abhaya’s teacher Thresiyamma. I expect to get justice. There were bruises all over her body, she said.

Thresiyamma was a Malayalam teacher at BCM College. She was one among those who reached the convent first knowing her death. She had earlier mentioned that Fr Jose Puthrikkayil, the accused in the case, was in the convent at that time. The teacher firmly believes that she was murdered. Though majority of the 133 witnesses in the case had retracted their statements, the teacher stood firm in her statement.