Kerala: 21-Year Old Girl Studying To Become A Nun Found Dead In A Well Inside A Church Convent

A 21-year-old woman Divya P. Johnny, who was studying to become nun, was found dead in a well inside the compound of Paliakkara Beselian Convent  in Thiruvalla, according to the police on Thursday.

On hearing a thud and splash sound around 12 noon, a few inmates looked into the well in the compound of the Baselian Convent at Thiruvalla, around 120 km from the state capital. The convent authorities immediately informed the Fire Department and the police.

In about 20 minutes, Divya was taken out of the well and shifted to a private hospital by the police. She was was declared dead on arrival.

Police suspect it to be a case of suicide. “As of now, no foul play is suspected,” said a police officer on the condition of anonymity and added the nun was undergoing training.

Police have registered an unnatural death case.

In Sep 2018, the body of a 54-year-old nun Susan Mathewwas found in a well inside a convent in Kerala’s Kollam district on Sunday. The nun used to teach at St Stephens School in Pathanapuram, about 80 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

In Dec 2015, a 33-year-old nun, later identified as Stella Maria, was found dead in a well of Sacred Heart convent at Uluppuni which is around 10 kilometres from Vagamon in Idukki district of Kerala.

Sister Abhaya, a Catholic sister, was found dead in a water well in St Pius X Convent in Kottayam on 27 March 1992. Investigation into this death is by far the longest running murder investigation saga in Kerala. As per the CBI, on the day of the crime, the two priests entered the convent through the kitchen and were engaged in an illicit relationship with Sister Sephy, which was witnessed by Abhaya. She was killed to hide the matter and her body was left at the convent’s well.