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