An Indian software engineer from Telangana has been charged with murdering his wife in Washington, nearly nine months after she was found dead in their apartment. Police allege Avinash Narne strangled 27-year-old Raajitha Sabbineni, staged the scene and continued communicating with a woman in India with whom he was allegedly in a relationship.
Nearly nine months after a young Indian woman was found dead inside her apartment in Washington state, US police have arrested her husband, alleging he murdered her and tried to make the death appear suspicious but unrelated to him. Avinash Narne, a 30-year-old software development engineer from Telangana, has been charged with the murder of his 27-year-old wife, Raajitha Sabbineni.
Investigators believe the killing was planned and say evidence gathered over several months points to deliberate strangulation followed by an attempt to mislead investigators. If convicted, Narne could face life imprisonment under Washington state law. He is currently being held on a USD 5 million (around Rs 48 crore) bail.
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Wife found dead inside bathroom
The case began in October 2025 when Bellevue Police received an emergency call from Narne. He claimed his wife had locked herself inside the bathroom and was not responding.
Officers forced open the bathroom door and found Sabbineni lying on the floor. She was declared dead at the scene, just months after the couple got married.
An autopsy later concluded that she had died from asphyxia caused by strangulation. Medical examiners officially ruled the death a homicide, prompting detectives to launch a detailed investigation.
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Digital evidence challenged husband’s version
According to investigators, Narne told police he had stepped out of the apartment for around 40 minutes to run errands and returned to find the bathroom locked.
However, detectives examined data from the apartment’s smart-lock system and front-door security records. The digital evidence reportedly showed that although Narne briefly left the apartment, no one else entered or left during that period.
Police said this ruled out the possibility of an unknown intruder entering the home while Narne was away.
The investigation then shifted towards Narne’s personal life and communications.
Alleged affair became key part of investigation
Court documents allege that Narne had been involved in a secret relationship with another woman in India even before marrying Sabbineni. Investigators claim the relationship continued after the wedding and that the woman had attended the couple’s marriage ceremony.
Police said phone records showed Narne spoke to the woman several times on the day of his wife’s death, including around the time he claimed he was trying to enter the locked bathroom.
Investigators also alleged that Narne admitted sending the woman a photograph of Sabbineni’s body the day after her death, a claim that has drawn widespread attention.
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Messages raised fresh questions
Detectives also examined messages exchanged between the couple in the weeks before Sabbineni died.
According to charging documents, Sabbineni had repeatedly told her husband that drinks he prepared tasted unusually bitter. On the day of her death, she reportedly messaged him saying a smoothie tasted like “medicine” and “cough syrup”.
Police have not publicly stated whether those messages are linked to the cause of death, but they form part of the evidence collected during the investigation.
After months of reviewing forensic findings, digital records and witness statements, Bellevue Police arrested Narne. On July 1, prosecutors formally charged him with first-degree murder, alleging that the killing was intentional and premeditated. The case will now proceed through the Washington court system.
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