Poison failed, so she used a pillow: How cops solved a caregiver’s plot to kill elderly woman

In 2020-2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused many elderly individuals to become isolated from their adult children who lived away, a family in Mangaluru decided to hire a caregiver to help with their aging parents. Six months after hiring the caregiver, the mother of the household, Benedict Carlo, passed away. At first, her death was believed to be natural, but further investigation revealed that it was a calculated murder.

Ronald Carlo, a 42-year-old electrician, received a call from his sister-in-law, Violet, on January 26, 2021, around 6:10 PM, informing him that their 72-year-old mother, Benedict, had become unconscious. Benedict suffered from age-related illnesses, and Ronald had recently hired a 23-year-old relative named Elma Preschith Baretto to take care of her. Benedict's husband was also bedridden following a paralytic stroke.

Ronald decided to take his mother to the hospital, hoping for her recovery. However, upon arrival, doctors informed him that Benedict had died. This raised suspicions, as the doctors noted injuries on Benedict's neck, shoulder, and left hand. Benedict, who was diabetic and had high blood pressure, was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.

The police were alerted, and Sub-Inspector Prasanna visited the residence. Upon inspection, a gold chain with a Jesus cross, seven finger rings, a pair of bangles, earrings, and a thali were discovered missing. It became evident that the death was not natural. Baretto, who had been taking care of Benedict for six months, did not attend the final rites and avoided phone calls.

The investigation pointed towards Baretto, who had been with Benedict for the past six months and had failed to attend her funeral. During questioning, Baretto provided an unusual response when asked about her absence from the funeral. She simply stated, "I did not do anything."

On February 2, 2021, Baretto was picked up for questioning. The police also discovered that someone was regularly picking up and dropping off Baretto from work for the three to four days preceding Benedict's death. Baretto revealed that this person was her boyfriend, Satisha A R. Satisha was arrested and brought before the police.

Both Baretto and Satisha confessed to their involvement in the murder. They had initially planned to poison Benedict, but after the poison proved ineffective, they decided to suffocate her with a pillow, with Charan Kumar, a friend of Satisha, suffocating Benedict with a pillow while Baretto restrained the victim by holding onto her leg.

WhatsApp chats between the accused revealed a detailed account of their plan to commit the murder. The police found 99 calls exchanged between Charan and Satisha from the night of January 25, 2021, to the evening of January 26, 2021, and 31 calls between Baretto and Satisha during the same period. There were no calls exchanged between Charan and Baretto.

The Bantwal Rural Police filed a chargesheet against Baretto, Charan, and Satisha. All three accused were granted bail in December 2021. However, a local court later convicted them and sentenced them to life imprisonment on July 23 this year. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence, including motive, the last seen theory, and the seizure of materials from the accused.