A Mangaluru Court on Tuesday, sentenced three persons to life for murdering 72-year-old woman, Benedicta Karlo, in Ammunje village of Bantwal taluk, five year ago.The second Additional District and Sessions Judge, Jagadeesh V.N., sentenced Elma Preschith Baretto, Charan Kumar and Satheesha A. R. to life and imposed fine of ₹5,000 each for the offence under Section 302 read with Sections 120-B and 34 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). In default to payment of fine, they shall undergo simple imprisonment for one year.The Judge further sentenced them to undergo six years simple imprisonment and imposed fine of ₹5,000 each for the offence under Section 392 read with Section 34 of IPC. They were sentenced to one year simple imprisonment and fined ₹1,000 each for the offence punishable under Section 201 read with Section 34 of IPC. All sentences will run concurrently.According to chargesheet, Ms. Baretto was taking care of deceased Ms. Karlo and her bed-ridden husband 80-year-old Hinas Karlo. She eyed on the jewellery and other ornaments of Ms. Karlo. She unsuccessfully attempted to poison Ms. Karlo by using poisonous substance given by Sateesha. On January 25, 2021, Ms. Baretto came to Ms. Karlo’s house on the motorcycle of Charan Kumar, a friend of Sateesha. The two smothered Ms. Karlo to death and left the house with ornaments worth ₹2.75 lakh. The remaining portion of the poisonous substance was thrown in a roadside drain near the house.The Bantwal Rural police station arrested the three accused persons and recovered the stolen ornaments. Chargesheet was filed by Police Inspector T.D. Nagaraj. In the court, Prosecutor Jyoti Pramod Nayak examined 32 witnesses in the period between June 25, 2025 and May 4, 2026. Published - July 28, 2026 07:51 pm IST