Meet actress, who murdered a friend, chopped him into 300 pieces, got intimate in front of dead body, was arrested by police with the help of…
In 2008, Bollywood’s glossy façade cracked, revealing a dark, chilling tale that stunned the nation. At the centre of it was a rising Kannada actress, a jealous lover in uniform, and a casting director who vanished without a trace.
Maria Monica Susairaj had come to Mumbai chasing the dream—to go from South starlet to a known name in Hindi cinema. That’s when she crossed paths with Neeraj Grover, a casting executive at Balaji Telefilms. Their professional bond quickly turned personal. Grover helped her network, offered her his flat, and eventually became more than just a friend.
But love in Maria’s life was already spoken for — she was in a long-distance relationship with Navy Lieutenant Jerome Mathew. When Jerome sensed something more than friendship between Maria and Grover, suspicion began to brew. Jealousy turned deadly.
In May 2008, Jerome showed up unannounced in Mumbai. What he found in Maria’s apartment — Neeraj Grover — lit the fuse. A violent confrontation followed. In a fit of rage, Jerome stabbed Neeraj to death, with Maria present. But the horror didn’t end there.
The couple’s actions after the murder defied comprehension. According to reports and the police investigation, the duo allegedly spent hours with the body, engaging in unspeakable acts. Later, they dismembered Grover’s corpse into over 300 pieces, packed the remains in plastic bags, and drove out to burn them with petrol. All in a desperate attempt to erase the crime.
Neeraj’s sudden disappearance set off alarms among his friends and family. Calls went unanswered. Police tracked his last known location — it led straight to Maria. As surveillance intensified, the investigators noticed an unusual call spike between Maria and Jerome following Neeraj’s disappearance.
The breakthrough came from a tip — a watchman remembered seeing Maria and Jerome carrying suspicious bags out of the apartment. Confronted with evidence, Maria broke down and confessed.
The following trial became one of India’s most watched true crime sagas. Jerome was sentenced to 10 years for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, while Maria received just 3 years for destroying evidence. The verdict stirred public outrage, especially given the brutality of the crime.
Maria Monica Susairaj walked free in 2011, having already served her time in custody.
Years later, the shadows of this case still linger — a haunting reminder that sometimes, real-life scripts are far more terrifying than anything written for the screen.
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