Dutch woman murder: Cops ready with chargesheet

CHENNAI: Mamallapuram police are ready to file a chargesheet against Dutch national Remco Elisabeth Martin Joseph for the murder of his 35-year-old girlfriend Johannah Cornalia Lamberta near Mamallapuram in March.
“We have substantial evidence and several witnesses to strengthen our case against Joseph and prove that he committed the murder,” an investigating officer said.“We are waiting for legal opinion, and are likely to file the chargesheet next week.”
Lamberta, also a Dutch national, was found dead in a house near Mamallapuram, 60km from Chennai, on March 23. A postmortem concluded that she had been beaten to death. Police arrested her boyfriend, Joseph, 32, a boat mechanic in the Netherlands, in connection with the murder.
“We have included as witness an autorickshaw driver, who helped police nab Joseph at the crime scene,” the officer said. “A maid, Valli, who used to help the couple and cook for them, has also stated that she witnessed the couple quarrel shortly before the murder.”
The police have prepared a 60-page chargesheet against Joseph.
The investigators have included material evidence including the victim’s bloodstained clothes and a club which was recovered from the house.
Mamallapuram police had initially registered a case under Section 174 (suspicious death) of the CrPC. Investigating officers later made it a case of murder and arrested Joseph. Police said Joseph confessed to having committed the crime in a fit of rage.