Two Malayali women were found dead at two separate apartment complexes in the Milpitas and San Jose areas of California within minutes of each other on Friday, August 28. The two locations are about a 17-minute drive apart.
While the Milpitas Police arrested a 32-year-old woman after a fatal hit-and-run involving one of the women, relatives of the victims have alleged that the same woman was responsible for the second death, which San Jose Police are investigating as a homicide.
The victims have been identified by their relatives as Anjana Hari, 35, from Mannuthy in Thrissur, and Ann Mary Mathew, 40, from Kesavadasapuram in Thiruvananthapuram. Neither Milpitas Police nor the San Jose Police Department (SJPD) have publicly released the identities of the victims or suspects.
The two incidents were reported minutes apart. Milpitas Police said officers responded at 12.01 pm to a hit-and-run in the parking lot of Mill Creek Apartments at 440 Dixon Landing Road. Less than two hours later, at approximately 1.53 pm, San Jose Police responded to a suspicious-circumstances call in the 700 block of Linda Vista Street, where they found an unconscious woman inside a residence.
In the Milpitas case, witnesses reported seeing a blue SUV leave the apartment parking lot after hitting a woman. Police found the victim with significant injuries and she was pronounced dead at the scene. A blue SUV matching the description was later found in a nearby parking lot with significant damage, and a 32-year-old Milpitas resident was arrested.
“Witnesses reported seeing a blue SUV leaving the area immediately following the incident,” the Milpitas Police Department said in a statement.
The police said the circumstances leading up to the collision were still being determined and that the investigation remained active.
The victim in the Milpitas case has been identified by her relatives as Anjana Hari. Her family said the woman arrested by Milpitas Police was Anila, 32, a native of Moonnilavu in Kottayam who lived in the same apartment complex.
The woman found by officers of the SJPD inside a residence in the 700 block of Linda Vista Street later died at the scene, reports said. The Homicide Unit found evidence that she had suffered at least one stab wound and ruled the death a homicide.
SJPD said preliminary information showed that the victim and suspect knew each other and that an adult woman had been quickly identified as the suspect. However, the department has not released the suspect’s identity.
Ann Mary’s relatives have identified her as the victim in the San Jose homicide. They allege that the woman Anila, who was arrested by Milpitas Police in connection with Anjana’s death, was also responsible for Ann Mary’s killing. Neither police departments have confirmed the allegation or publicly said that the two cases are connected.
The SJPD said the motive and circumstances surrounding the homicide remained under investigation, while Milpitas Police said the circumstances leading to the fatal collision were still being determined.
Ann Mary’s husband, Pallathra Jacob, a native of Chingavanam in Kottayam, reached the apartment after learning about Anjana’s death, according to the family. He reportedly found Ann inside the residence with stab wounds.
Ann Mary had been living in the US for around 10 years and was working as an engineer, according to her neighbours. She had returned to Kerala in late June to attend her father Gigi Mathew’s 70th birthday celebrations before returning 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, according to her relatives. 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, and she last visited her family home in Mannuthy in 2023. Her relatives said efforts were under way to bring her body back to Kerala.
Thrissur Collector Sikha Surendran said she had asked Anjana’s family to submit details of the incident so they could be forwarded to the NORKA secretary, who could approach the Ministry of External Affairs for assistance in bringing her body back to Kerala.
Media reports also say that all three women participated in an Onam celebration just a few days ago.