Jayanthi was arrested by Kamakshipalya police on December 15, on charges of murdering her mother-in-law along with her paramour. Jail authorities said that around 5.30 p.m., some inmates of the women cell found Jayanthi hanging herself. The jail authorities rushed her to Victoria hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.

Jayanthi had married Purushotham of Kamakshipalya two months ago, police said. However, she continued to have an illicit affair with Shanmugananda even after the marriage. On December 15, Jayanthi's mother-in-law caught the two together. Fearing that the former might inform her son about the affair, Jayanthi and Shanmugananda strangled her to death.