‘I killed him at 14’: Man confesses to killing nearly four decades later

Kozhikode: Haunted by a decades-old secret, a man named Muhammadali walked into the Vengara police station in Kerala’s Malappuram district on Friday and confessed to a killing he says he committed nearly 40 years ago—when he was just 14.

According to police, he revealed that the incident occurred in 1986 in the village of Koodaranji, which falls under the Thiruvambady police jurisdiction in Kozhikode district. At the time, he was working on the property of a man named Devassya when, he said, another man tried to harass him. Acting in self-defence, he kicked the man, who then fell into a nearby stream.

Panicked by what had happened, the teenager fled. When he returned two days later, he discovered the man’s body still lying in the water. Fearing the consequences, he said nothing—a silence he maintained for nearly four decades.

Back then, local authorities treated the death as natural. Villagers had reportedly told police the man suffered from epilepsy, and with no one able to identify the body, the case was quietly set aside.

But for Muhammadali, the memory lingered with the remorse it created.

Now in his fifties, he told police the weight of guilt became unbearable—especially after personal tragedy struck. His elder son passed away, and his younger son was seriously injured in an accident. The emotional toll, he said, pushed him to tell the truth.

He reportedly told investigators that he couldn’t sleep after the family tragedy. Officers took his confession seriously and accompanied him to the stream where he pointed out the spot where the body had been found.

Thiruvambady Station House Officer K Prajeesh is now leading an investigation, combing through decades-old case files and newspaper clippings in an attempt to identify the long-forgotten victim.

The only surviving clue so far is a small news clipping from December 5, 1986. It states: "Koodaranji: Body of a young man found in a small stream behind Mission Hospital. Estimated age: 20."

Police have now registered a murder case against Muhammadali, who is currently in judicial custody.