Kerala: Nun’s body recovered from well, cops suspect suicide

The police officer said the nun’s family members have not raised suspicion about her death and they were aware about her health issues.

A nun’s body was found inside a well in the premises of Mount Thabore Dayara Convent at Pathanapuram in Kollam rural district on Sunday. Police identified the nun as Soosan Mathew (54), belonging to Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, who taught at a Church-run school at Pathanapuram. The nun’s body was found by other residents of the convent.

The nun did not attend the daily Mass on Sunday. Other nuns, after they returned from the Mass, began searching the convent premises for her. After some time, they spotted the body in the well and alerted the authorities. The body was fished out by rescue teams in the presence of officials.

Kollam (rural) SP B Asokan said preliminary investigation suggests that Mathew committed suicide.

“A case of unnatural death has been registered. She was suffering from various health ailments and was undergoing treatment. It seems she was depressed over persisting health problems,” said Asokan.

The SP said the police will be able to reach a conclusion about the cause of her death after getting the post-mortem report. “There are cut injuries on both her hands. We have also recovered a razor from her room. There were blood stains in her room and on the way from her room to the well,” the SP said.

“The body was shifted to the medical college hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, where a postmortem will be conducted on Monday,” he said.

The police officer said the nun’s family members have not raised suspicion about her death and they were aware about her health issues. Malankara Orthodox Church trustee Fr M O John said Mathew was suffering from several health issues, including insomnia and Thyroid.

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