Two women from Kerala who were living with their families in the US were killed in separate incidents in California on August 28. Police have arrested their common friend in connection with the deaths, according to authorities and relatives.
The victims have been identified as 35-year-old Anjana Hari from Thrissur and 40-year-old Ann Mary Mathew from Thiruvananthapuram. Their 32-year-old common friend, Anila, who is from Kottayam, has been taken into custody in connection with the deaths.
Authorities have not yet determined the motive behind the killings.
According to local media reports citing relatives, the three women had spent time together the day before the incidents. They attended an Onam celebration and later went to a theatre to watch a movie.
Union Minister Suresh Gopi, who has stepped in to assist with bringing the women's bodies back to Kerala, said the deaths had officially been classified as homicides. He added that the motive and other details would become clear only after US authorities complete their investigation and release their formal findings.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Police said officers received a report around noon on August 28 about a hit-and-run incident in a parking lot in Milpitas. Witnesses reported seeing a blue SUV leave the location immediately after the collision.
Officers found a severely injured woman at the scene, but she was declared dead there.
Police subsequently found a blue SUV matching the description at a nearby parking lot. The vehicle had extensive damage that appeared consistent with having been involved in a collision.
The driver, a 32-year-old Milpitas resident, was arrested. Police have not publicly released her name, although the victim's family identified her as Anila.
The woman who died in the collision was identified as Anjana.
Her relatives in Kerala said the family was initially told that Anjana had been seriously injured in an accident and taken to hospital. They later received confirmation that she had died.
The second victim, Ann, was discovered dead inside her San Jose apartment. Relatives alleged that she had been stabbed before Anila reportedly drove her car into Anjana in Milpitas.
According to relatives, Ann's husband, Jacob, went to the apartment after hearing about Anjana's death and found his wife dead.
Police have yet to establish the complete circumstances of the second death or the exact sequence linking the two incidents. The investigation is ongoing.
Some relatives claimed that Anila had recently lost her job in the US, while Ann had obtained employment and a work permit around two weeks before the incident. However, authorities have not confirmed any connection between employment or financial circumstances and the killings.
WHO WERE THE VICTIMS?
Anjana worked as a schoolteacher and lived in California with her husband, Vijesh, a software engineer, and their six-year-old daughter, Vamika.
The family relocated to California in 2021. Anjana had last travelled to Kerala in 2023.
Ann Mary was employed as a computer teacher at a school in the US. She is survived by her husband, Jacob, and their two daughters, Andreesa, 12, and Alisa, 5, according to relatives.
The three women were friends and had reportedly spent time together just a day before their deaths. They attended an Onam event before going to a theatre to watch a movie.
By the following day, however, Anjana had been killed in the vehicle collision and Ann had been found dead in her apartment.
EFFORTS TO BRING THE BODIES BACK TO KERALA
Suresh Gopi said he had contacted the Consul General at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco regarding arrangements to repatriate the women's mortal remains.
He said the Consul General informed him that funeral homes responsible for the services had been instructed to complete the necessary paperwork required to send the bodies back to India.
However, Gopi said the timeline remained uncertain because US authorities could retain the bodies as part of their investigation.
He said he was expecting another update from the Consulate and that only after receiving it would the families know when the mortal remains could be transported to Kerala.
The motive and complete circumstances behind the two deaths remain unclear as US authorities continue their investigation.
