Indian mother, son murdered in US: Hate crime ruled out, family suspects son-in-law

Sasikala Narra, 38, and son Anish Sai were stabbed "multiple times", law enforcement officials on Friday said.

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Vijayawada/New Delhi: An Indian IT professional and her six-year-old son were found dead at the Fox Meadow Apartments in Maple Shade in New Jersey's Burlington County on Thursday evening.

N Hanumantha Rao allegedly found the bodies of his wife Sasikala Narra, 38, and son Anish Sai when he returned to home from work, his family said in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.

The mother and son were stabbed "multiple times", law enforcement officials on Friday said but ruled out that the brutal killings were a hate crime.

Sasikala's parents, who live on the outskirts of Vijayawada, however, said they suspect the involvement of their son-in-law.

Venkateshwarlu and Krishna Kumari alleged that he was not treating their daughter well for last two years and he was also carrying on an extramarital affair.

Sasikala's parents said she had told them over the phone several times that he is not looking after her well and was continuing the affair with another woman.

They said Hanumantha Rao telephoned them Friday just to say that his wife and son have died and did not say anything more.

Narras' close family friend Mohan Nannapaneni said in a ABC6 Action News report that Rao had called him shortly after finding his wife and son in a pool of blood.

"When he opened the house and he couldn't find his wife and son and then he called Anish his son and he didn't answer, so when he went to open the bedroom and then he found those two people ... Dead and blood everywhere," said Nannapaneni.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officials have denied the killings were hate crime or a result of bias against the Indian origin of the victims, according to a statement provided to news agency PTI by Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.

"Contrary to some media reports, at this point, there is no indication that this is a hate crime connected to the fact that the victims are of Indian origin," the statement said.

Public Information Officer at the prosecutor's office Joel Bewley stressed there was no information that suggests the incident was motivated by any kind of bias.

He rejected reports that claimed the victims were targeted because of their Indian-origin. Police officers were called to the victims' home just after 9 pm local time by Sasikala's husband after he found their bodies.

Officials said no arrests have been made and the deaths were being investigated as homicides. "The preliminary investigation revealed that both victims were stabbed multiple times," the statement said.

Autopsies were yet to be performed.

Y Sambasiva Rao, the lawmaker from Prakasam district, meanwhile spoke to representatives of Telugu Association of North America (TANA) over the phone about the incident.

The killings have shocked the Maple Shade community, which has expressed concern and sadness over the murders.

"What kind of monster would come up and do something that scary?" said Lisa of Maple Shade in the report in ABC6 Action News.

"Someone is crazy. Someone is really, really crazy. Delusional, don't know what's going on in life," said Ashante Boorden of Maple Shade.

Alfred Maugeri of Maple Shade said in the report that it is saddening to see a child's life wiped out like that.

"It's unbelievable," he said.

Neighbours said they want whoever is responsible for the crime to be found soon and prosecuted. 

Neighbours who were in their homes around the time of the incident said they did not hear anything suspicious, the report added.

They described the Narras as wonderful people, especially little Anish.

"He was always happy... Smart little kid, too," said a neighbour who didn't wish to be identified.

Another neighbour Chris Davis said she heard Rao saying "She's dead, she's dead! There's blood all over the place, She's dead!" as others tried to console him.

"This is sad, really said," said Iesha Zuniga, 26, a restaurant worker who had lived in the complex for more than a decade. We feel unsafe."

Hanumantha Rao and Sasikala both were software professionals. Sasikala used to work from home for an IT company while Hanumantha Rao is working as an associate director in another firm.

The couple married in Vijayawada in 2004 and had been living in the US for 12 years.

This is the latest in a series of incidents involving Indian techies.

Telangana engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed when Adam W Purinton, who earlier served in the US Navy, shot him in Olathe, Kansas, on February 23.

Vamshi Reddy Mamidala, also from Telangana, was shot dead in Milpitas, California, on February 10 in a garage in his apartment building.

Earlier this month, a 39-year-old Sikh man was shot in his driveway in Washington state. The gunman had reportedly told the man to "go back to your own country" before pulling the trigger.

(With Agency inputs)