The world has got another kill bill in this century.
Bachan Athwal, 70, who has 16 grandchildren, is now holding the record of the oldest woman ever to be convicted of murder in England along with his son.
In order to kill the mockingbird, both of them set up a trap to lure her daughter-in-law to come to a family wedding in India. Instead, they strangle her in a minibus driven by the victim's husband.
The motive is as Surjit Kaur Athwal, the victim, cancelled the arranged marriage, which is considered as bringing a disgrace upon the family, based on the London's Old Bailey court.
After Thursday's verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll of London's Specialist Crime Directorate says, "This case highlights how seriously we treat any murder or violence, regardless of the motive, whether it be for financial gain or in the name of so called honour".
This matter of injustice will be sorted out in the court on 19 September 2007.
The Sixth-Sense Cat
Oscar arrives at Room 313. The door is open, and he proceeds inside. Mrs. K. is resting peacefully in her bed, her breathing steady but shallow. She is surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren and one from her wedding day. Despite these keepsakes, she is alone. Oscar jumps onto her bed and again sniffs the air. He pauses to consider the situation, and then turns around twice before curling up beside Mrs. K.
One hour passes. Oscar waits. A nurse walks into the room to check on her patient. She pauses to note Oscar's presence. Concerned, she hurriedly leaves the room and returns to her desk. She grabs Mrs. K.'s chart off the medical-records rack and begins to make phone calls.
Within a half hour the family starts to arrive. Chairs are brought into the room, where the relatives begin their vigil. The priest is called to deliver last rites. And still, Oscar has not budged, instead purring and gently nuzzling Mrs. K. A young grandson asks his mother, "What is the cat doing here?" The mother, fighting back tears, tells him, "He is here to help Grandma get to heaven." Thirty minutes later, Mrs. K. takes her last earthly breath. With this, Oscar sits up, looks around, then departs the room so quietly that the grieving family barely notices.
(Article by Adam Rogers)
At the first glimpse, Oscar is just a simple ordinary-looking-yet-famous cat living in Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island.
However, you might not realise that this cat has a sixth-sense to detect something horrible.. that is death. He has a habit of entering the patient room who is about to take her lastly breath.
Myth? Scientists cannot explain this, but the Rehabilitation Centre becomes famous as the presence of this angel of death. Nurses and doctors are going to call the relatives of the patient whenever they found Oscar purring on the patient's bed.
David Dosa, assistant professor at the Brown University School of Medicine and a geriatric specialist mentions that the special cat has an undescribable instict of death and pretty insistent on it."
Dr Dosa also made a further study on Oscar into an essay published in The New England Journal of Medicine which can be accessed here.
