Hyderabad: What initially appeared to be a case of the “sudden death” of a 27-year-old woman has now unfolded into a chilling murder investigation, with US authorities arresting her 30-year-old husband, a software engineer from Telangana, for allegedly strangling her barely four months into their marriage.Avinash Narne was arrested for the alleged murder of his wife, Raajitha Sabbineni, at their apartment in Bellevue, Washington, on Oct 27, 2025. According to investigators, Avinash initially called 911 claiming that he had returned home to find his wife unresponsive after she had accidentally locked herself inside the bathroom while he was out running errands. Police and emergency responders forced open the bathroom door and attempted CPR before she was declared dead.The case took a dramatic turn when the autopsy concluded that Raajitha died of asphyxia due to strangulation. It grew murkier as detectives pieced together Avinash’s alleged relationship with another woman in India. Investigators alleged that he made a series of calls to her on the day of his wife’s death and even sent her a photograph of Raajitha’s body after the alleged murder.Another key piece of evidence, reportedly, was a series of unsettling messages exchanged between Raajitha and a friend in the days before her death. The 27-year-old allegedly described a “bitter-tasting” smoothie served to her by her husband. In fact, on the day she died, Raajitha sent one such message even to Avinash about how the smoothie he prepared tasted bitter — “like cough syrup.”Together, these details led US cops to pin Avinash as prime suspect in the case.US police, reportedly, suspect the alleged murder was linked to Avinash’s relationship with the woman in India, who, according to investigators, had also attended the couple’s wedding held on June 5, 2025. Raajitha later moved from Texas to the Seattle area to begin her married life.The local police submitted in court that the two remained in touch even after the marriage and that Avinash called the woman at least four times on the day Raajitha died, including around the time he later claimed to have been trying to enter the bathroom. Detectives also alleged that, when questioned about messages sent to the woman and later deleted, he admitted to sending her a photograph of Raajitha’s body.When TOI contacted members of the Telugu community who helped facilitate Raajitha’s cremation, they said Avinash and a close friend had reached out seeking assistance with the last rites.“When we spoke to him, there was nothing to suggest that it was a murder case or that he himself was a suspect. We were shocked when we later learnt what the police had alleged,” a volunteer associated with the cremation process told TOI.The volunteer said Avinash, as the next of kin, handled all the cremation formalities himself. According to the version shared with volunteers during the documentation process, Raajitha had been unwell since the morning of Oct. 27.“We were told she had spoken to her parents and her husband later that evening and had wanted food and medicine from outside. Narne had stepped out to get them. By the time he returned, she was in the bathroom and not responding. A friend and 911 were then called, after which police broke open the door and emergency responders performed CPR for around 30 minutes before she was declared dead,” the volunteer said.Community members said this was the version initially relayed to them before the investigation dramatically evolved into a murder probe.Members of the community said Raajitha’s relatives later reached out to Telugu associations in the US, following which local volunteers stepped in to assist the family. Her last rites have since been performed in Washington.
