DNA From Laptop Cracks 8-Year-Old Double Murder in US
visakhapatnam: Eight years after a mother and her young son were found brutally murdered in their New Jersey apartment, US authorities have made a major breakthrough in a cold case by filing criminal charges against an Indian national. Nazeer Hameed, a former colleague of the victim’s husband, was charged with murder and related offenses in connection with the March 2017 deaths of Sasikala Narra, 38, and her six-year-old son Anish at their Fox Meadow Apartments residence in Maple Shade. Sasikala Narra, from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, had gone to the United States for work.
US investigators solved the case using DNA taken from Hameed’s company-issued laptop, which matched a drop of blood found at the scene. The victim’s husband, Hanu Narra, returned home from work on March 23, 2017 to find his wife and son dead in their home. Both victims had been stabbed multiple times and had defensive wounds. The first suspicion fell on Hanu Narra; His relatives claimed that he may have killed his wife and son because they were involved in an extramarital affair. However, DNA evidence found at the scene did not match Hanu Narra’s profile, leading to his release. Investigators collected multiple blood samples from the scene; Among them was a droplet that belonged neither to the victims nor to Hanu Narra. Hameed emerged as a suspicious person after police discovered that he was accused of stalking Hanu Narra, with whom he had previously worked. The suspect lived within walking distance of the victims’ home but moved to India six months after the murders.
US investigators reached out to Hameed in India multiple times to ask for a DNA sample, but he repeatedly refused. In 2024, authorities obtained a court order to seize Hameed’s company-issued laptop. DNA from the device matched an unknown blood droplet from the 2017 crime scene, linking Hameed to the murders.
Patrick Thornton, chief of investigations for the Burlington County District Attorney’s Office, confirmed that Hameed was working in the United States on a visa at the time of the incident. However, Hameed has remained in India since his return.
