Washington, DC – 10-month-old baby Saanvi Venna, who had been missing from her parent’s apartment in the US state of Pennsylvania, was reportedly found dead on October 26, according to US Telugu community leaders.
“Poliice identified the killer of Saanvi’s grandmother and found the body of Saanvi today morning at 4:30 am,” said a statement from Ram Mohan Konda, Secretary of the ATA (American Telugu Association).
“Killer name is Raghu (Telugu guy) who was part of searching team along with our Regional coordinator Madha Moosarla till yesterday night and participated in vigil and distributed flyers. He is neighbor and family friend,” Konda said.
Adding chilling details of the episode, Konda said in his statement, “His (Raghu’s) goal was for ransom of 50,000 dollars. Police discovered 10 identical ransom notes in the apartment building. Raghu killed grandmother and took the baby in suitcase and placed in sauna in close by apartment basement.”
“Police arrested him and charged him with murder and kidnap,” Konda said.
Earlier the local police and the Telugu community had announced a $30,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the baby on Wednesday. This was later increased to $50,000. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had joined the massive search for the baby.
Saanvi was abducted between 8 am and 1 pm local time on Monday from the family’s apartment in King of Prussia, a Philadelphia suburb, according to investigators. Saanvi’s paternal grandmother, who was babysitting her, was found murdered in the apartment.
61-year-old Satyavathi Venna had arrived from Andhra Pradesh in July and was scheduled to return home in January. Investigators would not immediately say how the grandmother was killed or whether there were any suspects.
Baby Saanvi’s parents, father Venkata Konda Siva Venna and mother Chenchu Latha Punuru, immigrated to the US from India in February 2007. The couple lived in San Antonio, Cleveland, and Troy (Michigan), before moving to the Philadelphia area apartment complex in June of this year.