Man admits killing missionary and his 2 young sons in India

By Archana Mishra

Associated Press

BHUBANESHAR, India — A defendant in the 1999 killing of an Australian missionary told a trial court in the eastern Indian state of Orissa on Saturday that he was responsible for the crime and that 13 other men charged are innocent.

Mahendra Hembram, one of 14 men accused of killing Graham Staines and his two young sons, said he was solely responsible for setting fire to the car in which the Staines were sleeping in Manoharpur, a village in the tribal Keonjhar region.

"All the other accused are innocent and therefore should be set free," Hembram said in a written confession submitted to the trial court.

Staines, 58, and his two sons were burned alive as they slept in their truck after a Bible study meeting. The killing was part of a series of attacks against missionaries or Christian institutions and was attributed to right-wing Hindus who claimed that impoverished Hindus were being unfairly induced to convert.

In his confession, Hembram said he had been angry that Christian outsiders were visiting Manoharpur. He also said he was offended by their habit of eating beef. Cows are regarded as sacred in Hinduism.

"It had become impossible for me to tolerate these activities of the Christians," Hembram said.

On the night of the murder, Hembram said he and a group of people saw Staines and his sons asleep in a car parked outside a church.

"While others put straw under the vehicles, I set fire to it," he said.

They fled after setting the cars on fire.

Hembram, who has been in jail for nearly 18 months, said he decided to confess after realizing innocent people could be punished for a crime they had not committed.