An Indian man has been charged with murder and weapons offenses in the 2017 killings of a co-worker and her young son in Maple Shade, N.J., prosecutors said Tuesday.
Nazeer Hameed, 38, is accused of stabbing both victims to death in their Hamilton Road apartment on the evening of March 23, 2017.
Hameed, who was living in the U.S. on a visa at the time of his alleged crimes, returned to India six months later, Patrick Thornton, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office chief of investigations, said at a press conference Tuesday. Prosecutors are now seeking his extradition back to the U.S.
Both 38-year-old Sasikala Narra and 6-year-old Anish Narra died from “multiple slash wounds to their necks,” prosecutors said, adding that the boy had been “nearly decapitated” by the attacker.
Their bodies were reportedly discovered by the boy’s father.
The post-mortem examination revealed several defensive wounds on both victims, who were found in a scene described by Maple Shade Police Chief Christopher J. Fletcher as “unimaginable.”
“Those who responded saw the carnage of a mother and her young child who spent their final moments fighting for their lives,” Fletcher said.
Both Hameed and Narra worked for Cognizant Technology Solutions, a consulting firm doing work for a Philadelphia-based client, prosecutors said. Hameed also lived in the same apartment complex as the Narra family.
While a motive for the crime has not been determined, investigators found that Hameed had been “stalking” Hanu Narra, the victims’ husband and father.
While analyzing evidence from the scene, investigators found a tiny blood droplet that didn’t match either victim. It matched Hameed’s blood type and belonged to a male of Central Asian ancestry.
For years, federal authorities attempted to collect the suspect’s DNA for analysis, but those efforts stalled.
Ultimately, after Hameed’s employer was subpoenaed, the company provided investigators with a laptop he used at work.
A forensic analysis of the laptop confirmed that DNA collected from the keyboard was consistent with the DNA from the unknown blood droplet found at the murder scene.
“This development provided strong physical evidence that confirmed what our investigation had already determined,” BCPO Lt. Brian Cunningham said. “Nazeer Hameed went to the Narra apartment and brutally murdered Sasikala and her son, Anish.”