A convict, serving life term in the Central Jail for killing five relatives, died of heart attack today.

Govindasamy had killed five members of his uncle’s family in Kondayampalayam in Erode district in 1984 over a property dispute. After a long trial, he was given the death sentence by the Madras High Court on September 2, 1997.

The sentence was later commuted by the President of India to life imprisonment, on December 13, 2009, following a special leave petition. But, he was denied leave or parole, and he had to undergo rigorous imprisonment.

55-year-old Govindasamy, lodged in the Coimbatore Central Jail, complained of chest pain and vomited blood early in the morning today. After first aid at the Jail Hospital, he was shifted to the Government Hospital. But he died on the way, the police said.