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A woman from Keralam has been arrested by police in California, United States in connection with the alleged murders of two other women from the state, their families said. The two victims, who were close friends with the suspect, were killed within a few minutes of each other on August 28 (US time), according to their families and local officials.

(Left to right) Anjana, Anila, Ann Mary (HT Print)The victims were identified as Anjana Hari, 35, a native of Thrissur district, and Ann Mary Mathew, 40, from Thiruvananthapuram district. Their mutual friend, Anila, 32, a native of Kottayam district, was apprehended by the Milpitas police department in San Jose, California, and is suspected of being behind both deaths.

Families and local officials in Keralam said Anjana died of injuries sustained in a hit-and-run collision in Milpitas, while Ann was found dead with a single stab wound at her home in San Jose.

The Milpitas police department said it responded on the afternoon of August 28 to reports of a hit-and-run collision in the parking lot of the Mill Creek apartments.

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“When officers arrived, they found a female victim who had sustained significant injuries as a result of the collision. Unfortunately, she was pronounced deceased at the scene. Officers quickly searched the surrounding area and found a blue SUV matching the description in a nearby parking lot. The driver, a 32-year-old Milpitas resident, was arrested in connection with the incident,” police said in a statement.

Police said the circumstances surrounding the collision were being determined.

The San Jose police said a woman, identified by her family as Ann, was found inside her home on Linda Vista Street with a single stab wound shortly before 2pm on August 28. The death was flagged as a homicide, and police said the victim and suspect knew each other.

Rajagopal, a relative of Anjana, said the police investigation was under way and the family hoped to understand the alleged motive.

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“We just cannot comprehend what may have motivated Anila to do such a thing. All three of them, Anjana, Ann and Anila, were close friends. We heard that they had celebrated Onam together and had gone for a movie too recently. Even their husbands don’t know what transpired between them,” he said.

The three women lived in the US with their respective husbands and children and had separate jobs. Anjana was a school teacher, while Ann was an engineer, their families said.

Thressyama Thomas, a municipal councillor in Thiruvananthapuram who knew Ann’s family closely, said Ann had travelled to Kerala in June this year for her father’s 70th birthday.

“The family is in complete shock. They have no clarity as to what has happened. She (Ann) was a good person and interacted well with relatives and neighbours. Her father is in deep distress,” Thomas said.

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Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi said he had spoken to India’s Consul General in San Francisco regarding the repatriation of the victims’ bodies.

“The Consul General has ordered the local funeral service to proceed with documentation for the repatriation of the bodies. But because they were murders and the police investigation is on, there could be a delay,” Gopi said.