A court on Thursday awarded death sentence to a man for murdering his 54-year-old neighbour and chopping the woman's body into pieces six years ago.
Fourth Additional District Court Judge K Poorana Jeya Anand pronounced the death sentence.
Yasser Arafat, a resident of Melapalayam in Tirunelveli district, had killed the woman because he wanted to steal her gold chain and later, chopped her body into pieces, prosecution said.
He kept the parts in two suitcases and hid them in his flat, the prosecution said.
The matter came to light when a missing person complaint was lodged on February 13, 2013.
Police inspected Arafat's flat in Coimbatore after some neighbours complained of foul smell.
Arafat was arrested from Visakhapatnam, where he had shifted after killing the woman, police said.
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