RUSSELL'S VIPER DID NOT WORK, BUT A COBRA DID

Indian man killed wife using cobra after failed attempt with Russell's viper

By Lee Brown

New York Post
May 25, 2020

An Indian man has been accused of murdering his wife with a highly venomous cobra — weeks after failing with a viper.

The man only identified as Sooraj, 27, is accused of first planting a Russell’s viper in his wife Uthra’s room in Anchal in March — leaving her hospitalized almost two months from a near-fatal bite, police told Agence France-Presse.

When she was discharged to recuperate at her parents’ house, he then got a cobra from a local snake handler — throwing it at his 25-year-old wife as she slept, police official Ashok Kumar told the agency.

“Sooraj stayed in the same room as Uthra as if nothing had happened,” police said, with Sooraj acting surprised when “alerted by Uthra’s mother’s screams” as she found the body on May 7.

“They took her to the hospital where the doctor said she had died,” police said in a statement obtained by AFP.

The dead woman’s parents became suspicious because Sooraj had been present both times — and then tried to quickly take possession of all of his wealthy wife’s property.

They alerted police, who discovered he had been in contact with serpent handlers — and had also watched snake videos online, AFP says.

Sooraj was arrested Sunday and confessed during police interviews, according to Malayala Manorama.

He was motivated by their huge wedding comprising nearly 100 gold coins, a new car and at least $20,000 in cash, AFP said.

“Sooraj feared that divorcing Uthra would mean giving back all the dowry. That’s when he decided to kill her,” the police statement said.

The couple had a one-year-old child.

The man accused of selling him at least one of the snakes was also arrested, the reports said.