VOI World/ Desk
Two women from Kerala were killed in California in separate incidents minutes apart, with a mutual friend arrested in connection with the case, leaving their families and communities in Kerala searching for answers.
The victims were identified as Anjana Hari, 35, from Thrissur, and Ann Mary Mathew, 40, from Thiruvananthapuram. Their friend, Anila, 32, from Kottayam, was arrested by police in California following the deaths on August 28.
Police in Milpitas said they responded to a report of a hit-and-run collision at the Mill Creek Apartments parking area, where a woman was found with serious injuries and later pronounced dead. Officers subsequently located a blue SUV matching the description given by witnesses and arrested its driver, a 32-year-old Milpitas resident.
Separately, Ann Mary was found dead inside her San Jose home with a single stab wound. Police classified the death as a homicide and said the victim and suspect knew each other. Investigators are still working to establish the circumstances surrounding the two deaths and their connection.
The case has particularly shocked the families because the three women were reportedly close friends. They had recently celebrated Onam together and gone to watch a film, according to relatives. All three were living in the US with their husbands and children.
Anjana was working as a schoolteacher, while Ann Mary was employed in the education sector, according to their families. Ann had also visited Kerala in June for her father’s 70th birthday.
No motive has been publicly established so far. Reports of a possible job-related dispute have emerged from relatives, but investigators have not confirmed a motive, and the circumstances of the case remain under investigation.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to repatriate the bodies to Kerala. Thrissur MP and Union Minister Suresh Gopi said he had spoken with the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, though the process could be delayed because of the ongoing police investigation and autopsies.
The deaths have sent shockwaves through the victims’ native communities in Kerala, where families are now waiting for investigators in California to establish what led to the tragedy.
