According to charging documents filed in Washington, Raajitha Sabbineni, 27, died on October 27, 2025, barely a few months after the couple's wedding.
However, an autopsy later concluded that Raajitha died of asphyxia due to strangulation, prompting investigators to treat the case as a homicide.
According to investigators, Narne made at least four phone calls to the woman on the day of his wife's death.
'Bitter Smoothie' MessagesThe investigation also unearthed messages exchanged by Raajitha shortly before her death.
Investigators later concluded that the scene had allegedly been staged to resemble a suicide and that only Narne had access to the apartment at the relevant time.
Nearly nine months after the death of a 27-year-old Indian woman in Bellevue, Washington, US authorities have arrested her husband, Telangana-born software engineer Avinash Narne, charging him with first-degree murder after concluding that he allegedly strangled her to death and staged the crime as a suicide.
According to charging documents filed in Washington, Raajitha Sabbineni, 27, died on October 27, 2025, barely a few months after the couple's wedding. The case was initially treated as a sudden death after Narne called emergency services claiming he had returned home to find his wife unresponsive inside a locked bathroom.
However, an autopsy later concluded that Raajitha died of asphyxia due to strangulation, prompting investigators to treat the case as a homicide.
Alleged Affair and Murder Motive
Investigators allege that Narne was involved in a long-standing relationship with another woman in India before marrying Raajitha through an arranged marriage and had concealed the relationship from his family. Authorities claim the woman even attended the couple's wedding in June 2025 and that the two continued communicating after the marriage.
According to investigators, Narne made at least four phone calls to the woman on the day of his wife's death.
Police also allege that he later sent her a photograph of Raajitha's body, a fact he reportedly admitted during questioning after initially deleting the messages.
'Bitter Smoothie' Messages
The investigation also unearthed messages exchanged by Raajitha shortly before her death.
According to investigators, she had complained to friends and to Narne that smoothies he prepared for her tasted unusually bitter, at one point describing the taste as being "like cough syrup."
While the messages have become part of the investigation, authorities have not publicly confirmed that the drinks contained any harmful substance.
Suicide Theory Rejected
Police said Narne initially claimed that he had gone out to buy food and medicine after his wife complained of feeling unwell. On returning home, he allegedly told investigators that he found her locked inside the bathroom and called 911 after failing to get a response.
Emergency responders forced open the bathroom door and attempted CPR before Raajitha was declared dead.
Investigators later concluded that the scene had allegedly been staged to resemble a suicide and that only Narne had access to the apartment at the relevant time.
Community Shocked
Members of the Telugu community in Washington, who assisted with Raajitha's cremation shortly after her death, said they were unaware that Narne had become the prime suspect in the case.
Volunteers recalled that Narne personally completed the cremation formalities and had maintained that his wife had died after becoming unwell while he was away from home.
As the investigation progressed, however, detectives cited forensic findings, digital evidence, deleted communications and Narne's alleged relationship with another woman as key factors leading to his arrest on charges of first-degree murder.
The criminal proceedings against Narne are now pending before the competent court in Washington State.
