Indian engineer charged in US for murdering wife

Washington, Jul 9 (PTI) A 30-year-old Indian has been charged with murdering his wife over an alleged affair with another lady, almost nine months after her death at their home in the US' Washington state, local media reported. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Avinash Narne with one count of first-degree murder on July 1. Narne, who was arrested in June last week and remains in custody on USD five million bail, had “a secret romantic relationship with another woman” in India and also sent her photos of his wife's dead body over WhatsApp, Fox13 Seattle reported. Prosecutors allege that Narne premeditated the strangulation and staged the crime scene before police arrived at their Bellevue home in Washington state. Bellevue police were informed that Narne and the victim, 27-year-old Raajitha Sabbineni, had been married for only a few months through an arranged marriage when his wife was found dead in a locked bathroom. According to court documents, Bellevue police officers were dispatched to the Woodland Commons Apartments on October 27 last year after receiving a 911 call from Narne, who stated his wife was locked in a bathroom and unresponsive. Responding officers found Sabbineni dead on the bathroom floor. Despite efforts from first responders to save her life, Sabbineni was pronounced dead at the scene. Narne, who worked with Amazon, allegedly told police he “came home and found this situation.” He and Sabbineni had entered into an arranged marriage approximately four months before she was found dead. The King County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled that Sabbineni died from asphyxia due to strangulation. Bellevue police then upgraded the case from a suspicious death to a homicide investigation. Police said Narne was involved in a secret romantic relationship with a woman in India at the time of his wife’s death. Narne denied any involvement in his wife's death, however, police cite WhatsApp messages and door lock records as evidence in probable cause documents. Investigators said no one entered the couple's apartment during the woman's death apart from Narne, and that he spontaneously referenced a deleted picture of his wife's body during an interview. According to local media reports, police searched Narne's cellular devices, Google, WhatsApp and Instagram accounts, which allegedly showed that he “had a secret romantic relationship with another woman” in India. “Avinash appeared to have initiated an engagement with [the other woman] and provided her with what appeared to be an engagement ring in late 2024,” local media reported quoting from the affidavit filed in court. “Despite her parents refusing the engagement, Avinash and [the other woman] continued to have daily contact via WhatsApp calls and texts and were sexually intimate in January 2025 based on timestamped images,” the affidavit said. Even after his marriage to his wife, Narne allegedly communicated regularly with the other woman and began “proclaiming his love to her” and “wishes to be together.” Police say that he even invited the other woman to his wedding in June 2025 and she attended it as a guest. Narne allegedly continued to contact the other woman the day following his wife's death through WhatsApp messages. “Additionally, Avinash appeared to have sent a message to [the other woman] which he then deleted. [The other woman] responded to the deleted message with what looks like a 'staring eyes' emoji,” the affidavit said. Detectives asked Narne about the deleted message and he “spontaneously referenced” a deleted picture of his wife's body, according to the affidavit. PTI SKU NPK NPK