Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
The mortal remains of two Malayali women who were killed in Northern California in August were brought to Kerala on Monday, September 21. The bodies arrived at Cochin International Airport in the morning.
The victims Anjana Hari, 35, from Mudikkode in Thrissur, and Ann Mary Mathew, 40, from Kesavadasapuram in Thiruvananthapuram were killed by Anila Baby, another Malayali native. Anjana worked as a teacher, while Ann Mary was an engineer.
The repatriation was facilitated by NORKA-Roots and state authorities, in coordination with the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and Union Minister Suresh Gopi. The bodies were handed over to their respective families on Monday for the final funeral rites.
The two women were killed on August 28 in Northern California. The accused, Anila Baby, 33, a native of Moonnilavu in Kottayam, was a common friend of the victims and lived in the same apartment complex. She was later arrested by local law enforcement.
The two incidents occurred within minutes of each other. According to authorities, Anila fatally attacked Ann Mary Mathew inside an apartment in San Jose before allegedly running over Anjana Hari with an SUV in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Milpitas.
Anila was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors have cited a high degree of violence and planning in the case.
Media reports have also said that all three women had participated in an Onam celebration a few days before the killings.
Ann Mary had been living in the US for around 10 years. She returned to Kerala in late June to attend her father's birthday celebrations before travelling back to the US. She is survived by two daughters, aged 12 and five.
Anjana had been working as a teacher in California for nearly six years. Her husband, Vijeesh, a native of Vilangannur near Peechi, is a software engineer in California. The couple have a six-year-old daughter, Vamika.
Anjana and her family moved to California in 2021. She last visited her family home in Mannuthy in 2023.