Wanted to make amends, serial killer tells cops

Chennai: Stephen, the prime suspect in the serial killings case, told the cops during custodial interrogation that he was just about mending his ways when he was arrested in connection with the illegal possession of arms,.

“You could have given me an opportunity to reform myself. I myself am not happy with the way things fanned out”, is what Stephen, the arrested realtor from Injambakkam, told cops.

“You need not have arrested me. You could have given me a chance for self-reformation. I believe I deserved a chance for the same. I was in the process of setting things right”, said confident a Stephen, who otherwise remained mum over his involvement in crimes other than what he was confronted with based on the confessions from his aides.

Stephen was taken to his house in the city and also to his palatial 2-acre farmhouse in Uthiramerur in neighbouring Kancheepuram for collection of more evidence against him.

“We did not have much time to interrogate him. We wanted to take him to Mumbai where he had reportedly purchased ‘Potassium Cyanide’ for Rs 1.5 lakh and two handguns, a revolver and an illegally imported automatic pistol, all procured for Rs 12 lakhs”, said a senior police official.

The cops, who sought 15 days custody considering the gravity of the offences, got only 3-day custody of Stephen in which time they could do little. Stephen also did not cooperate much during custodial interrogation.

It was while probing a burglary at his house in Injambakkam last month that cops stumbled upon three murders committed using Potassium Cyanide shots. He reportedly killed his brother-in-law John Phelomenan, Sridhar and Henry last year, at regular intervals. The last two named were husbands of Stephen’s lady companions.