Crime Patrol: Serial killer Mallika's death sentence reduced to life (Episode 578 on 29th Oct, 2015)

The Inside Story

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Bangalore, Karnataka, Jan 1, 2008

First Woman Serial Killer Nabbed

Bangalore police have arrested K D Kempamma alias Mallika, a 43-year-old resident of Kaggalipura, on charges of killing six women with cyanide. The serial killer killed her victims by making them drink water laced with cyanide, which she would offer as part of a special pooja. She would then rob them of their jewelry and money. Her last victim was killed while asleep. Kempamma had been abandoned by her husband and was thrown out of her house in 1998. In 2001, she was arrested by the Bidadi police for attempted robbery. Police are now collecting details of other temple premises murders, asking medical experts for cases of cyanide poisoning, and attempting to trace those who supplied the killer with the deadly drug.

Mallika, whose real name is K. D. Kempanna, preyed on women in distress who were looking for solutions to domestic problems or medical cures. She would befriend them, then convince them she could help them by conducting pujas and rituals at a temple far from their homes. Once there, she would rent a room and begin the rituals. Then, in a sudden movement, she would administer cyanide into the victim's mouth, killing them in less than five minutes. Mallika would then take any valuables she could find.

While India is no stranger to serial murder, Mallika is being touted as the country's first female serial killer. She has shocked the city, and the country, with the revelation that she killed her victims while they slept or prayed. Mallika’s victims, who believed in her and trusted her, were seeking help and hope, and Mallika betrayed them.

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