Motive behind killing of Indian woman, son in US still unknown
Sasikala Narra, 38 and her son Anish Narra were killed on Thursday inside their residence at the Fox Meadow Apartments in Maple Shade in New Jersey's Burlington County.
From Yoshita Singh New York, Mar 25: The gruesome killings of an Indian IT professional and her 6-year-old son in a New Jersey town has sent shock waves in the neighbourhood with the motive behind the murders still unknown. Sasikala Narra, 38 and her son Anish Narra were killed on Thursday inside their residence at the Fox Meadow Apartments in Maple Shade in New Jersey's Burlington County.
The two were found murdered when Sasikala's husband Narra Hanumanth Rao returned from work Thursday evening. Officers from the Maple Shade police department were called to the Hamilton Road residence just after 9 PM by Rao after he found the bodies of his wife and son. Authorities said no arrests have been made and the deaths are being investigated as homicides. Preliminary investigation revealed that both victims were 'stabbed multiple times'.
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.
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
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
had
said.
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 say "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."
PTI