2 Kerala Women Killed By 'Friend' In US. They Celebrated Onam Together

Two women from Kerala have died in what police in California are treating as a case of homicide, days after they had reportedly celebrated Onam together with their families. A woman who lived in the same apartment complex and was known to both victims has been taken into custody.

The incident took place on 28 August in Milpitas, a city in California. Ann Mary Mathew, 40, originally from Kesavadasapuram in Thiruvananthapuram, was allegedly stabbed inside an apartment at the Mill Creek Apartments complex. Anjana Hari, 35, from Mudikkode in Thrissur, was later struck by a car in the complex's parking area.

According to Milpitas Police, officers were first called out over a hit-and-run report on Dixon Landing Road, near the Mill Creek Apartments. When they arrived, they found a woman with severe injuries lying in the parking lot. Witnesses told police that a blue SUV had driven off straight after the collision.

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Officers later traced an SUV matching that description to a nearby car park. They arrested the vehicle's driver, a 32-year-old Milpitas resident.

Relatives of the victims have identified the woman in custody as Anila, 32, from Moonnilavu in Kottayam, news agency IANS reported. She was allegedly friends with both women and is believed to have lived in the same apartment complex with her own family.

Anjana's relative Vinod told the media that although the families knew Ann through video calls, they had never personally met Anila. He added that the three women had all been employed in different jobs.

Based on information reaching the families from people in the US, Vinod said Anila allegedly stabbed Ann inside the apartment before later ramming a car into Anjana.

No motive has been established, and police have not yet released further details of the allegations.

Anjana had moved to the US in 2021 and was working as a school teacher in California. She is survived by her husband Vijeesh, a software engineer, and their six-year-old daughter, PTI reported.

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Ann Mary worked as a computer teacher at a school in the US. She was married to Jacob, who is from Chingavanam, and the couple had two daughters.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi confirmed the deaths on Monday and said the government was working to bring the women's bodies back to Kerala. Both Gopi and Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan have spoken with the families of the two women.

Gopi said he had spoken to the Consul General at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco.

"I am in regular touch with the Consul General there. I have been told that the bodies of both the women will be handed over after the autopsy is completed. They are expecting it to happen by Tuesday. After that, the bodies will be handed over to registered funeral homes there. By then, the families will have to inform the authorities which destination the bodies are to be taken to," he told news agency IANS

Gopi said the deaths had been officially confirmed as homicides, but that specific motives and detailed findings from the investigation would only be known once formal reports were issued by US authorities to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and NORKA.