TRICHY: A domestic brawl compounded by a woman's denial of

to her husband resulted in her

at Thiruverumbur in Trichy on Sunday. Police said the 34-year-old man severed his wife's head after stabbing her to death.

D Sankar Sagayaraj of Kattur was arrested by the Thiruverumbur police on the charge of killing Jesintha Josbin, 26, and remanded in judicial custody.

Sagayaraj and Jesintha got married in January this year. A few weeks into their marriage, the couple started fighting. Sagayaraj, who was an agent with an insurance company, was not regular to work. This led to frequent quarrels between them. A few months ago, Sagayaraj mortgaged 2.5 sovereigns of gold jewels belonging to his wife without her knowledge. The couple had a fight over this issue.

Frustrated with Sagayaraj, Jesintha went to her parents' home at

in Thanjavur district two months ago.

On September 30, Sagayaraj and his parents went to Jesintha's parents' home, consoled her and brought her back.

On Saturday night, Sagayaraj and Jesintha had a fight. "After that, she refused to have sex with him," said Thiruverumbur police inspector Gnanavelan. "This enraged Sagayaraj." Around 2am, when Jesintha was sleeping, Sagayaraj tried to strangle her.