Family of cyanide murder plot victim says evil daughter-in-law deserves to rot in jail
THE family of a man killed by his wife in a cold-blooded cyanide plot has slammed the evil poisoner they used to love as a daughter, saying she deserves to rot in jail for the heartbreak she caused.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE parents of a Melbourne man killed by his wife and her lover in a cyanide murder plot say their daughter-in-law deserves to spend the rest of her days in jail.
Sam Abraham died after being force-fed orange juice laced with the poison.
His parents now plan to fight for custody of their young grandson, who will grow up without his dad and only seeing his mum on prison visits.
HOW CYANIDE MURDER WAS SOLVED WITH TICK OF A BOX
HOW WIFE, LOVER ALMOST GOT AWAY WITH ORANGE JUICE MURDER
POLICE STING NABBED ALLEGED LOVERS IN CYANIDE PLOT
Sofia Sam claimed her husband, who was found dead in October 2015, suffered a heart attack in his sleep at their Epping home.
Photographs later showed her weeping over an open casket after she escorted her husband’s body to his parents’ home town in India.
But while she was playing the grieving widow, back in Melbourne the homicide squad was quietly unravelling the truth.
Sam was last week jailed for a maximum of 22 years, and co-accused Arun Kamalasanan jailed for 27 — sentences the victim’s family said would never be enough to make up for their heartache.
Mr Abraham’s parents said they had been fooled by a “good actress”.
Speaking from home in Kerala, India, Leelamma Abraham said her daughter-in-law had betrayed them.
“She was like my daughter … how could she be so cruel?” Mrs Abraham said.
“This punishment is not enough — she should have been given life imprisonment.”
Samuel Abraham Sr said: “She performed … she made us believe that she was really broken. We thank the Victoria Police for giving us justice.”
Authorities initially believed Mr Abraham, 33, had died in his sleep of natural causes.
But an autopsy pointed to a sinister reason.
An undercover officer befriended Sam’s lover over several months, and officers also tracked the suspicious pair’s movements to prove they were having a relationship.
Both denied involvement in the murder but they were found guilty in February following a three-week trial.
Kamalasanan was recorded admitting to sneaking into the Abraham family home and slipping sleeping pills into an avocado shake Sam had made.
He laced orange juice with cyanide and force-fed it to Mr Abraham as he slept beside his six-year-old son.
The boy has been living with Sam’s sister in Melbourne since his mother was arrested, speaking to her every day and regularly visiting in prison.
ACCUSED CYANIDE KILLER ‘LAY IN WAIT’ BUT DENIES TAKING PART
CYANIDE MURDER SECRET RECORDING PLAYED IN COURT
Mr Abraham Sr said the family was seeking advice from the Indian government to obtain custody of their grandson.
“He is our blood, and we can look after him — he will be safer with us,” he said.
“We convey our sincere gratitude to the Australian government and Australian judicial system. Now we are concerned about our grandchild.”