Raghunandan Yandamuri says police forced him to confess to crimes.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The man arrested for the ghastly 2012 slaying of a newborn baby girl and her grandmother told the judge at his pre-trial hearing that the confession he initially gave police upon arrest was actually coerced.
Raghunandan Yandamuri told the court last week that when he was arrested on October 26, 2012, police forced him to confess to the killing of ten month-old baby Saanvi, and the baby’s grandmother, Satyavathi Venna. He has now pleaded “not guilty” to all charges against him.
Yandamuri allegedly kidnapped Saanvi in an attempt to extort a $50,000 ransom from the baby’s parents, Latha and Venkata Venna Konda. Yandamuri, a computer programmer from the King of Prussia area just outside Philadelphia, was friends with the baby’s parents before the kidnapping and murders.
According to what Yandamuri first told police, he went to the Venna Konda house with four knives, intending to kidnap Saanvi for money. When he took the baby, he found her grandmother there, who lunged at Yandamuri in order to save the baby. Yandamuri retaliated by slitting the grandmother’s throat with one of the knives, dropping the baby in the process.
The baby began crying, and in order to keep her quiet, Yandamuri stuffed rags into Saanvi’s mouth. Eventually, he tied a towel around her, causing the baby to suffocate and die. Yandamuri also stole an entire suitcase worth of jewelry from the Venna Konda’s house.
Yandamuri has now recanted his previous confession, and now claims that the killings were done by two other men that he does not know. On top of that, he says that police did not allow him his one phone call upon arrest, which he says he would have used to call his then-pregnant wife, perhaps for an alibi.
Yandamuri is set to take the stand on Monday, January 13, for cross-examination. If convicted, he faces the death penalty. His initial confession to authorities, given when arrested one-and-a-half years ago, can be viewed below (courtesy of NTV Telugu News):
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com