Two Malayali women from Kerala were killed in California, with police detaining a woman who was reportedly a friend of the victims in connection with the deaths, according to relatives and media reports.
The victims have been identified as Anjana, 35, a native of Thrissur, and Ann, a native of Kottayam. The incident took place in the Milpitas area of California, according to reports from Kerala-based media. The two women were known to each other and lived in the same apartment complex, according to relatives. A third Malayali woman, identified in reports as Anila, has been taken into custody in connection with the case.
Details about what led to the deaths remain under investigation.
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According to Onmanorama, Anjana was from Peechi in Thrissur. She had been living in California with her husband, Vijeesh, a software engineer, and their six-year-old daughter. She worked as a school teacher. Peechi police confirmed Anjana’s death after receiving information from the Thrissur District Collectorate about the incident in the United States, the report said.
The Milpitas Police Department said officers responded around noon Friday to a reported hit-and-run collision at the Mill Creek Apartments on Dixon Landing Road. Police found a woman with significant injuries at the scene and she was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told police that a blue SUV left the area after the collision. Officers later located a damaged blue SUV in a nearby parking lot and arrested its 32-year-old Milpitas resident driver, according to the police account cited by Onmanorama. Police said the investigation remained active.
Kerala media reports have identified the second victim as Ann, from Kottayam. Relatives said she was found dead inside an apartment after Anjana’s husband alerted a common friend following the vehicle incident. Reports have said Ann suffered stab wounds, although authorities have not publicly confirmed all details surrounding the deaths.
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The three women were described by relatives as close friends. Reports also said they lived in the same apartment complex. The motive behind the deaths has not been officially established. Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the two deaths and the role, if any, of the detained woman.
The case has drawn attention in Kerala because both victims had ties to the state’s Malayali community in California. Their families are also working on arrangements related to the repatriation of their remains, according to reports.
The identities of the victims and suspect have not been officially confirmed by the Milpitas Police Department in the public statement cited by Onmanorama. The police investigation remains ongoing.