Chilling details emerged in the Kerala mass murder case on Tuesday when police entered the crime scenes at three different locations and found the faces of the deceased smashed and signs of hammer blows.

The crime unfolded across three locations — Venjaramoodu, Chullalam and Pangode — before Afan, 23, walked into a police station and confessed to killing his brother, grandmother, paternal uncle, aunt and girlfriend on Monday.

The body of Farsana, a postgraduate student at a college in Kollam and reportedly Afan’s girlfriend, was found in a seated position on a chair, with a pool of blood on the floor beneath her head.

According to visuals from the crime scene, she had a massive injury on her forehead, apparently caused by a heavy hammer blow. Afan appears to have struck her several times after the first blow killed her, with the intent to disfigure her face, the police said.

A photograph of Afan was found in the background, placed on the table beside Farsana’s body, with blood droplets splattered on it.

Police officers said what they witnessed was one of the most brutal assaults Kerala has seen in recent years.

Afan, who had a close bond with his younger brother Afsan, 13, allegedly struck him multiple times on the head with a hammer, killing him on the spot, the police said. Afan’s paternal uncle Latheef was attacked more brutally.

According to the police, Afan allegedly struck Latheef on the head with a hammer more than 20 times, shattering his skull. Latheef’s body was found on a chair in the drawing room.

Latheef’s wife, Sajitha, who was in the kitchen preparing tea for Afan, was allegedly hit with a hammer from behind multiple times. Her body was found lying near the kitchen, the police said.

“It was difficult to identify the victims as they were all covered in blood. When we lifted Latheef, someone’s fingers went inside his head through a huge hole at the back of his skull,” a neighbour, recounting the horrifying scenes at the murder site, told PTI.

Afan’s murderous streak displayed psychotic patterns as he scattered several ₹500 notes around Afsan’s body after hammering him to death. Afan had taken Afsan home by telling him that he had brought kuzhimanthi, an Arabian meat-rice dish, for him.

Their mother, Shemi, 55, a cancer patient who was pulled to the floor and attacked with a hammer, is undergoing treatment at a medical college hospital.

Afan’s father Rahim is stuck in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, as he has overstayed there after his Iqama, a residence permit that allows foreign nationals to live and work in the nation, expired almost two years ago. Social activists in Saudi Arabia are trying to make arrangements for his return to India.

Although the police have not officially revealed the sequence of events, sources within the force suspect that Afan began his killing spree with his paternal grandmother, Salma Beevi, 88, at her house in Pangode near Venjaramoodu. He then allegedly attacked his mother, followed by his brother and his girlfriend.

Before heading to the police station, Afan left the LPG valve open, intending to cause an explosion if anyone entered the house at night, the police said. Locals who saw Afan between the murders told the police that he appeared unfazed and showed no signs of distress.

After committing all these murders, Afan calmly walked to the police station and informed officers that he had assaulted six people at three locations, adding that they would all be dead by now.

Investigating officials say that Afan was a drug abuser and have obtained evidence to support this. However, the specific drug he used and whether he was under its influence during the massacres is yet to be confirmed.

Syam Sundar, the south zone inspector-general of police, said: “Afan is currently admitted to the intensive care unit at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital after consuming rat poison. His condition is stable but we are yet to question him. The motive behind the mass murders is yet to be ascertained.”