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A 30-year-old Telugu software engineer was arrested in the United States on charges of first-degree murder of his wife, nearly eight months after she was found dead in the bathroom of their apartment in Bellevue, Washington.
The accused, Avinash Narne, was arrested by Bellevue Police on June 27 after an extensive investigation into the death of his 27-year-old wife, Sabbineni Rajitha. Prosecutors filed the murder charge on July 1.
He is being held at the King County Jail on a bail of 5 million dollars (over Rs 47 crore).
The victim, Rajitha was found unresponsive inside the locked bathroom of the couple's apartment at Woodland Commons in downtown Bellevue on October 27, 2025. Despite emergency responders' efforts to revive her, she was declared dead at the scene.
According to investigators, Avinash initially told police that his wife had been feeling unwell and suggested she may have consumed cough syrup before collapsing. However, the King County’s medical examiner’s office ruled that Rajitha’s death was a homicide and she died from asphyxia due to strangulation.
Investigators also alleged that Avinash had been involved in a romantic relationship with a woman in India while still married. Digital evidence reportedly showed he made four phone calls to the woman around the time of Rajitha's death.
Authorities also recovered internet search history related to poisons and other evidence that prosecutors say pointed to a deliberate killing rather than an accidental death.
