Mishel Shaji case: Did Cronin hide evidence after learning about her death?

Mishel went missing near Kaloor on March 5 and was found dead in the Kochi lake the next day Cronin had sent 57 text messages to Mishel on March 4 and 32 more on the day she went missing

Mishel, an 18-year-old chartered accountancy student, went missing near Kaloor on March 5 and was found dead in the Kochi lake the next day.

The Piravom native was in a relationship with Cronin, who has been working in Chhattisgarh, for the last two years, though it has emerged that the couple was going through a rough patch.

Cronin had sent 57 text messages to Mishel on March 4 and 32 more on the day she went missing. He also called her several times on both days.

The youth learned about her death on March 6 but went on to sent her 12 more messages, proclaiming his love for her.

However, he deleted all the previous texts he sent her and retained only the last 12.

During the interrogation, Cronin showed these messages to the police, who believe it was a desperate attempt to establish his innocence and mislead the investigation.

The police had earlier expressed suspicion that Mishel was under severe mental trauma due to the issues in the relationship.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch team, led by DYSP KA Sasidharan, has taken charge of the investigation and is now expected to visit Cronin in jail for further questioning.