Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Maple Shade Police Chief Christopher J. Fletcher announced today that a 38-year-old Indian National has been charged with the March 2017 homicides of a woman and her young son inside an apartment in Maple Shade, New Jersey.
Nazeer Hameed was charged with the slayings and indicted earlier this year on two counts of Murder (First Degree), two counts of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Third Degree) and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (Fourth Degree).
“Our message today is clear – we do not forget, we do not forgive, and we do not stop pursuing those who take innocent lives,” Prosecutor Bradshaw said. “Justice is sometimes delayed based on the challenges of each case, but justice must always prevail, and it certainly will in this case.”
The investigation into these horrific homicides began on the evening of March 23, 2017, when officers from the Maple Shade Police Department were called to an apartment complex after the bodies of Sasikala Narra, 38, and Anish Narra, 6, were discovered inside their Hamilton Road unit.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined they each died from multiple slash wounds to their necks. Anish Narra was nearly decapitated by his attacker. The post-mortem examination revealed several defensive wounds on the bodies of both victims.
“The scene that day was unimaginable,” Chief Fletcher said. “Those who responded saw the carnage of a mother and her young child who spent their final moments fighting for their lives.”
Hameed lived in the same apartment complex as the Narras. Hameed and Narra both worked for the same company, Cognizant Technology Solutions, which was hired to perform consulting work for a Philadelphia-based business.
Hameed returned to India six months after the killings, where he remains to this day. As the investigation proceeded, he was identified as a person of interest after it was revealed he was stalking the husband and father of the victims, Hanumanth Narra.
The announcement of the charges against Hameed was delayed while investigators attempted to gain additional evidence and worked with our federal law enforcement partners to seek extradition.