The grisly California murders allegedly committed by Indian-origin techie Shankar Nagappa Hangud has taken a new turn as police reportedly discovered a third crime scene related to the deaths.
Shankar, 53, was arrested on Monday after he walked into a police station in northern California and allegedly told officers that there was a dead body in his car. He also allegedly confessed to killing three other people at his apartment in Roseville, Placer County. All the victims are believed to be relatives of Shankar.
He had reportedly driven to the police station in Mount Shasta, over 350 kilometres away from Roseville, in a red Mazda with the corpse in his car.
Now, police have revealed a possible timeline of events that took place allegedly over three days and in two California counties.
Shankar’s first two victims, a woman and a girl, were the first to die on October 7 at Shankar’s apartment in the Carmel at Woodcreek West complex in Roseville. According to reports, a boy was killed in the apartment the next day. The children are believed to have attended schools in Roseville, with at least one believed to have been a student at Silverado Middle School in the Dry Creek Elementary School District.
The fourth victim, a man whose body was found in Shankar’s car at the police station, was killed on October 13 in a "rural" area of Siskiyou County, where the Mount Shasta police station is located.
Though the identities of the victims have not yet been made public, police have now released the genders of the victims, all of whom are believed to be related to Shankar: An adult woman, a girl, a boy and an adult man. The criminal complaint identifies the victims only by their initials — JS, GH, NH and VH. According to reports, the police is working with the Indian consulate to contact the kin of the victims before revealing their identities.
One media report suggested that the adult man found dead in Shankar’s car is believed to have been his 20-year-old son.
Shankar does not have any prior criminal record. He is being held without bail at South Placer Jail and faces four counts of murder. When he was produced before a court, he said he did not want an attorney, though he later agreed to be represented by a public defender. His arraignment will be held on October 25.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Shankar had worked as a data specialist, though reports now suggest that he was unemployed.