Kerala native Anila Baby, who was arrested after a fatal hit-and-run in Milpitas, California, on August 28, has been charged with murder in connection with the death of another Malayali woman named Ann Mary Mathew (40), in San Jose.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office charged Anila Baby with murder on September 8 after reviewing the San José Police Department’s investigation into Ann Mary’s death. She was found with a stab wound at her residence.
The run-over victim was identified as Anjana Hari (35), a native of Mannuthy in Thrissur. Anila was earlier charged with murder in that case. According to relatives, both Anjana and Anila Baby lived in the same apartment complex.
The two deaths occurred at separate locations in Milpitas and San Jose within a few hours on August 28. The two locations are around a 17-minute drive apart.
According to San Jose police, officers responded at about 1.53 pm to a report of suspicious activity in the 700 block of Linda Vista Street. They found an unconscious and unresponsive adult woman inside a residence with injuries. The woman, later identified as Ann Mary, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The San José Police Department’s Homicide Unit, along with the Santa Clara County Crime Lab and the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner’s Office, investigated the death. Police said evidence at the scene indicated that the woman had suffered at least one stab wound, and the death was ruled a homicide.
“The motive and circumstances surrounding the event are still under investigation,” the police said.
Investigators said preliminary information showed that the victim and suspect knew each other and that an adult female suspect was quickly identified.
Earlier that day, at about 12.01 pm, Milpitas police responded to a fatal hit-and-run at the Mill Creek Apartments on Dixon Landing Road. Witnesses reported seeing a blue SUV leave the parking lot after hitting a woman.
Anila Baby was arrested by the Milpitas Police Department on August 28 and subsequently booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail in connection with the hit-and-run.
The hit-and-run victim, Anjana, had reportedly 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.
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