One night, six murders: Aluva’s darkest night turns 25

Twenty-five years ago, a brutal mass murder in Aluva shook Kerala to its core. On January 6, 2001, six members of a single family were hacked to death inside their home on Sub Jail Road, leaving behind a trail of horror that would haunt the State for decades.

The victims were Augustine (47), owner of Manjooran Hardwares, his wife Baby (42), their children Jaymon (14) and Divya (12), Augustine’s mother Clara (74), and his sister Kochurani (42). The lone accused in the case was Antony, a relative of the family and a temporary driver with the Aluva municipality.

What stunned investigators and the public alike was that a single man managed to kill six people, and the crime remained unknown for nearly 24 hours.

Why did he kill all the 6 members?

According to the investigation, the motive behind the massacre was a dispute over money. Kochurani had allegedly promised Antony financial help to go abroad, but later failed to provide it. On the night of the crime, Antony arrived at the Manjooran house around 9 pm, demanding the money.

Soon after, Augustine, his wife, and their children left for the second show at a nearby Zeenath Theatre. In their absence, Antony allegedly attacked Kochurani and Clara, killing them when they resisted. When the family returned home after the movie, they too were brutally murdered.

Antony fled Aluva before dawn and travelled to Mumbai, from where he went to Dammam. As the investigation tightened, police persuaded his wife to return to India. Antony was arrested at Mumbai airport on February 11.

The case was initially investigated by Aluva police and later handed over to the Crime Branch. Both agencies concluded Antony was the sole accused. However, Baby’s family suspected the involvement of others and approached the High Court, leading to a CBI probe. The CBI also found Antony alone responsible.

In February 2005, a CBI court sentenced Antony to death, the first such verdict by a CBI court in Kerala. The High Court upheld the sentence in 2006, and the Supreme Court confirmed it in 2009. Mercy petitions were also rejected.

However, in a legal twist, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered review petitions in death penalty cases to be heard in open court. This eventually led to Antony’s death sentence being reduced to life imprisonment on December 11, 2018.

After spending several years in solitary confinement, Antony was granted parole. He is currently in Kerala and is expected to report soon to the open prison at Kattakada in Thiruvananthapuram. Antony's wife, who was a teacher in Thrikkakara at the time of the murder, sold their house and moved to Tamil Nadu with her son.

The Manjooran house, where the massacre took place, stood abandoned on Sub Jail Road for many years. It was later demolished by relatives.