Martin Mantrique (40) and Ceule Denise Acosta (36) had been living together in Mexico but drifted apart over the years. As per a signed agreement between them,their daughter Adela was to stay alternatively with them. Last May,Mantrique came down to India with Adela and settled down in Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar,south Tamil Nadu,where he pursued post-doctoral research in mathematics. In September,Ceule followed and got enrolled at the prestigious Kalamandalam in Kerala to study Mohiniyattam,a traditional dance form. Trouble began when Ceule asked for the custody of the child,whom Mantrique was supposed to hand over this May. However,the father refused as Ceule reportedly planned to take the child to France where she was headed. On April 4,Ceule came to his Srivilliputhur residence and they argued over Adela. Mantrique told the police that she hit him repeatedly and he retaliated,without intending to cause any serious injury. Police believe that she died on April 9 afternoon when he banged her head against a wall. Realising what he had done,Mantrique allegedly hid the body in the bedroom,cleaned the blood stains and late in the night,after his daughter had gone to sleep,put the body in a large suitcase and kept it in the trunk of his car. The next day,he dropped Adela to school and reportedly went about his research work. In the night,he took his daughter on a drive around the area,which was reportedly a recce to identify a vacant place to dump the body. Police say he bought about 12 litres of petrol from various pumps in water bottles along the way. Once he found a perfect place in Austinpatti near Madurai,he allegedly took the suitcase out from the trunk,poured petrol over it and set it on fire,even as their daughter slept inside the car. On April 11,the Madurai police got information about a half-burnt body. It was so badly charred that it was difficult to tell even the sex of the person. Subsequent investigations led the police to a missing persons report filed for Ceule,and to Mantrique.
