After a long wait of 28 years, the verdict on the mysterious death of sister Abhaya, a teenage nun in Kerala, was pronounced on Tuesday. A special CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram Tuesday found Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy guilty in the case.

Kottoor, 69, and Sephy, 55, were charged under Section 302 (murder) and Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The quantum of punishment will be delivered on Wednesday.

Another accused in the case Father Jose Poothrukayil was let off by the trial court last year after no evidence was found against him.

Sister Abhaya, 21, was murdered and her body was dumped inside the well of a convent in Kottayam in 1992.

At the time of her death, Abhaya had been a pre-degree student in college run by the Catholic Church. The crux of the CBI case is that Sephy had a clandestine affair with two priests, both teaching in a college in Kottayam. On the day of the incident, Abhaya had been preparing for an exam. Her colleague Sister Shirly woke her up at 4 am that morning. She then went to the kitchen to take cold water from the fridge to wash her face to keep her awake. When Abhaya entered the kitchen, she allegedly saw the two priests, Kottoor and Puthrikkayl, and the nun in a compromising position. Fearing she would disclose the incident, the first accused, Kottoor allegedly strangulated her while the third accused, Sephy, allegedly beat her with an axe. Together, they dumped her body in a well within the compound.

It was initially dismissed as a suicide by the state police and crime branch, but the CBI later concluded that it was murder.

Abhaya’s brother lauded the verdict. “God is great. Justice has been done to my sister, though it is delayed,” he said. Activist Joman Puthanpurakkal who single-handedly took up the case said his 28 years of work had turned fruitful finally. “It is a slap on the face of church authorities who shamelessly protected the murderers,” he said.

Legal experts have also hailed the verdict. “It is a good day for the judiciary. Truth prevailed finally. Credit goes to the CBI team headed by Nandakumar Nair and activists like Jomon Puthanpurakkal,” said senior lawyer B Jayashankar.