Horror in Maple Shade: The brutal double murder ot Sasikala and Anish Narra
On the afternoon of March 23, 2017, 38-year-old software engineer Sasikala (“Sasi”) Narra and her six-year-old son, Anish, were brutally murdered inside their apartment in Maple Shade, New Jersey. Sasi’s husband, Hanumantha (“Hanu”) Narra, returned home from work to discover their bodies and called 911. Autopsies determined that both victims died from multiple stab wounds, and investigators have said both fought desperately for their lives. Anish suffered especially horrific injuries while attempting to defend himself and his mother. Additional details:
-Both Sasi and Hanu were in the US on H-2 visas.
-Hanu was deeply engaged in an affair with fellow immigrant Deepa Ajit. She lived in the Maple Shade apartments as well and worked at the same IT company as Hanu, Cognizant.
-Sasi worked from home and was reliant on an unidentified male fellow member of the Indian migrant community to help her collect Anish from school daily. She was isolated from her family overseas and had no vehicle. It is thought she was aware of her husband’s affair and distressed.
-He had recently picked up a $500K insurance on both his wife and son
-Neighbours had reported frequent fights between the couple
-He had not accompanied his wife/son's bodies to India for cremation
-He and the wife's family (in India) had made a settlement for the insurance money under the assumption that his wife's family were not pursuing the case anymore.
-His in-laws (Sasikala's parents based out of India) had alleged that Hanu took a "dowry" of 1 crore Indian rupees (roughly 120K USD in today's currency rates) and killed her for it. A "dowry" is an ancient practice in Indian culture where the parents of the girl give money as gift to the groom ahead of the marriage.
-Sasikala has written an email to her brother with details of Hanu's affair and how he used to treat her badly - snippets of these emails were released by Indian media as part of their coverage of the case.
-When the bodies were found, there was a mysterious fine white powdery substance around and the heat was cranked way up.
-It did not appear Sasi fought back some sources have said. Questions about co2 poisoning have been asked in certain forums.
-Hanu had picked up little Anish early from school that day with no clear reason, and returned to work after dropping the little boy at home. He then acquired time stamped proof of his whereabouts during the murder.
-You can hear his 911 call on the Strangeland podcast. It is odd. He sounds genuinely upset. But an unusual detail is that he kept asserting his whereabouts/albi to the 911 operator rather than giving any helpful information. A neighbor, stepped in to help and spoke to the 911 operator.
-The mistress, Deepa Ajit, for some reason was allegedly allowed into the crime scene area and kept exclaiming in an odd tone of voice (more wonderment than horror, from the sound of witness description) “my god.”
For years, the case remained one of New Jersey’s most frustrating unsolved homicides. Hanu Narra was extensively investigated, but his alibi was corroborated and no charges were ever filed against him.
This case became the focus of Season 2 of the investigative podcast Strangeland. Across fourteen episodes, the hosts conducted an independent investigation into the murders, examining Hanu Narra’s behavior, allegations of marital problems and the extramarital relationship, witness accounts, community divisions, and what they viewed as an unusually secretive police investigation. The series raised difficult questions and explored numerous theories, but consistently acknowledged that none had been proven.
Everything changed in November 2025, when the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had identified Nazeer Hameed as the alleged killer. Unofficial sources allege Deepa Ajit, Hanu’a mistress, was listed as a referral on his visa application. Investigators revealed that Hameed worked with Hanu Narra at Cognizant Technology Solutions, lived within walking distance of the Narra family in the same apartment complex, Maple Shade. It is also alleged he had a grudge against Hanu for unknown reasons and stalked the family. A tiny blood droplet recovered from the crime scene in 2017 did not belong to either victim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to obtain Hameed’s DNA through international legal channels, investigators subpoenaed his employer and obtained his company-issued laptop. DNA recovered from the keyboard matched the unknown blood found at the murder scene, leading prosecutors to charge Hameed with two counts of murder and related weapons offenses.
Authorities say Hameed left the United States for India approximately six months after the murders, where he remains. The United States is now seeking his extradition so he can stand trial in New Jersey. Investigators have stated publicly that they have no doubt he is responsible for the killings.
During the 2025 press conference announcing the charges, investigators also responded directly to Strangeland, arguing that the podcast unfairly portrayed the investigation as stagnant and suggested detectives had neglected the case. Law enforcement maintained that detectives had continued working behind the scenes for years while awaiting advances in forensic evidence and international legal processes that ultimately led to identifying the suspect.
While an arrest has not yet been made, the identification and charging of Nazeer Hameed represents the first major breakthrough in a case that many feared would never be solved, offering renewed hope that Sasikala and Anish Narra may finally receive justice.
Sources
Strangeland Season 2: Murder in Maple Shade – https://strangelandpodcast.com/season-two/
NBC10 Philadelphia: “Officials ID suspect in 2017 murders of mom and son in Maple Shade, NJ” (Nov. 18, 2025)
People: “Man Came Home 8 Years Ago to Find His Wife and Son Stabbed to Death — Now Police Have a Suspect” (Nov. 19, 2025)