Mexican held for girlfriend’s murder

VADAKKANCHERY: The Virudhunagar police on Tuesday arrested a Mexican national on charges of murdering his girlfriend. He confessed to have killed her following a row over the custody of their five-year old daughter.


Cecile Denise Acosta (36) was a Mohiniyattam student at Kalamandalam in Thrissur in Kerala. She was visiting her boyfriend Martin Manrique (40) and their daughter Adela who live in Srivilliputtur in Virudhunagar district. Manrique is a student of Kalasalingam University doing his doctoral research in mathematics.


Initially, Manrique misled the police claiming that he had left Cecile at the bus stand near Krishnan Kovil (Krishna temple) from where she usually takes a bus to Madurai and there on to Kerala.


But on interrogation, Manrique confessed to the crime. He said that they had fought over the custody of the child and he had hit his girlfriend who died on the spot. He said he had no intention to kill her and he hit her only when Cecile physically attacked him. But finding Cecile dead he tried to wipe out evidence. He burnt her body and put it in a suitcase and dumped it.


The partially burnt body in a suitcase was found at Austinpatti near Madurai a couple of days ago. Police are trying to confirm if the body belongs to Cecile. Her relatives have been informed and asked to take custody of the child.