Angry Teen Painter Beheads Friend For Texting His Crush

A 17-year-old boy beheaded his friend after he learned that the latter was liking the same girl as him.

The shocking murder occurred on July 29, in the city of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, India.

The deceased man, identified as 22-year-old P Madankumar, a resident of Stalin Colony of Kovilpatti, went missing from his home on July 29.

The painter’s decapitated body was found the next day in Manthithoopu, police said.

The Kovilpatti police initiated an investigation and began questioning the victim’s family and friends. Following a preliminary investigation, police narrowed down their suspicion on a teen, who hailed from the neighboring village.

According to the police, the suspect and the victim were friends and worked together as painters.

Police said both of them like the same girl, a 16-year-old school dropout. The girl used to send text messages to both of them but was allegedly close to the victim, according to police.

"The teenager considered Madankumar a threat to his love and decided to murder him. The boy had set a trap to murder Madankumar before inviting him for a drink on July 29. He hid a machete in bushes at Manthithoopu," a Times of India report quoted Superintendent of police, S Jayakumar as saying.

The duo arrived at the crime scene on separate motorcycles and began drinking, police said.

The suspect waited until the victim got drunk. The teen grabbed the machete and severed the victim’s head from behind while he was looking at his cellphone, police said. Before fleeing the scene, the teen threw the machete into a nearby pond.

The victim's body was discovered the next day. Officers responded to the scene and sent the victim's body to a medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

The suspect was located and arrested on suspicion of murder. The teen reportedly confessed to the killing during an interrogation. On Monday, police officers escorted the teen suspect to the crime scene and recovered the machete.

The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was presented before a court following which he was sent to a juvenile correction center.