Lakshminivasa Rao Nerusu arrested in Andhra Pradesh.
By American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian national alleged to be the murderer of his wife and two children in Novi, Michigan, four years ago, has been arrested in India.
Lakshminivasa Rao Nerusu, 46, was suspected of killing his then 37-year-old wife, Jayalakshmi Nerusu, 14-year-old daughter, Tejasvi Nerusu, and 12-year old son Siva Kumar Nerusu on October 13, 2008, and fleeing the country a day later, reported The Oakland Press.
According to reports in the Indian media, the Andhra Pradesh State Police near Hyderabad, took the lead on the overseas investigation and made the arrest.
At a media conference, Novi Police Chief David Molloy said Nerusu – a high level IT computer programmer – made comments implicating himself in the 2008 triple homicide.
Police report that they got wind of Nerusu’s arrest when a State Department legal attaché from New Delhi called them to tell them the man was in custody.
The initial 2008 investigation began when Novi officials said they found Nerusu’s family dead two weeks after they were killed in the 29000 block of Wharton, off of Novi Road near 13 Mile.
“A family member had … not heard from the family for a couple weeks,” said Molloy. “The school district … reached out to us, and they had been trying to contact the home to ascertain why the children weren’t at school.”
At that point, Novi police went to the Nerusu home on a welfare check and found the three deceased bodies with severe head and neck trauma, said the Press. As far as a motive, added Molloy, “We’ll leave that for the courts.â€
Around the time of the homicides, Nerusu’s profile was given to the television show “America’s Most Wanted,†which broadcasts internationally. Clues to how Nerusu was found point to Internet reports of his capture. Novi has a large Indian population, and some residents had emailed detectives, alerting them further, said Molloy.
If extradited, Nerusu faces three counts of first-degree premeditated murder, along with one count of taking an unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. That process takes four to five years, according to Molloy, so it depends on whether Nerusu fights the extradition.
“We do have an extradition treaty with the country of India,” Molloy said. Novi police are now working with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of State to make those arrangements, said the Novi chief.
“My understanding is that when Nerusu does finally waive extradition – or extradition is approved – the FBI has a project called ‘Project Welcome Home,’ where one of the agents from the FBI Detroit field office and a detective from the Novi Police Department will actually fly there and bring him back to Michigan,” Molloy said, according to the Press report.
First-degree murder involves premeditation and deliberation. If convicted, Nerusu faces life in prison without parole.