The wife of idli vendor Malayappa Thevar, who was stabbed to death in broad daylight at his stall on Bhima Shankar Marg in Dadar by four knife-wielding attackers on the morning of November 5, committed suicide by hanging herself at her Antop Hill residence on Thursday morning.

Rama, who is survived by a daughter, was found hanging by Thevar’s brother at around 6 am.

He rushed her to Sion Hospital, where she was declared dead before admission.

“We searched Rama’s single-storey residence and found a small slip of paper on which she had requested her brother-in-law to take care of her nine-month-old daughter,” said Anand Rahate, inspector.

Police believe Thevar’s gruesome murder pushed her.

The Tamil Nadu native’s killing is believed to be a result of a long-running bitter feud with another family in that state. His was the third murder in a series.

Thevar, who had been staying in Mumbai for the past 12 years, went to Tamil Nadu after his father was murdered last year. He was subsequently arrested for allegedly killing one of his father’s assassins. He returned to Mumbai after being released on bail.