Man Came Home 8 Years Ago to Find His Wife and Son, 6, Stabbed to Death — Now Police Have a Suspect

A New Jersey father who came home from work in 2017 to find his wife and 6-year-old son brutally stabbed inside their Maple Shade apartment now has an answer to who allegedly carried out the attack, after authorities identified a suspect following an eight-year investigation.

On March 23, 2017, 38-year-old Sasikala Narra and her son, Anish, were discovered dead inside their Hamilton Road apartment. The victims were found by Sasikala’s husband, Hanumanth “Hanu” Narra, when he returned from his job, according to a press release from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office (BCPO).

An autopsy revealed that both mother and child died from multiple stab wounds. Anish had been nearly decapitated, and both victims had defensive wounds, indicating they fought desperately for their lives, per the release.

Maple Shade Police Chief Christopher Fletcher later described the crime scene as “unimaginable.”

“There was carnage here,” he said, according to the release. “A mother and a young child who spent their last moments fighting for their lives.”

During the investigation, detectives found a small droplet of blood at the scene that did not belong to either victim. Testing showed it came from a male with Central Asian ancestry. That DNA was later linked to 38-year-old Nazeer Hameed, who lived in the same apartment complex as the Narras and worked for the same company, Cognizant Technology Solutions, authorities said.

Hameed left the United States and returned to India six months after the killings, where he remains, according to the prosecutor’s office.

As the case progressed, investigators identified Hameed as a person of interest after learning he had allegedly been stalking Hanu Narra. For years, they tried to obtain a DNA sample from him, the release noted. Indian officials informed U.S. authorities that Hameed refused to provide a sample in October 2020, and a mutual legal assistance request submitted in 2023 and acknowledged by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs was never fulfilled.

Detectives ultimately secured Hameed’s DNA from a company-issued laptop after Cognizant complied with a subpoena, according to prosecutors. A forensic examination of the keyboard produced a DNA profile that matched the unknown blood droplet found at the murder scene.

“This development provided strong physical evidence that confirmed what our investigation had already determined,” BCPO Lt. Brian Cunningham said. “Nazeer Hameed went to the Narra apartment and brutally murdered Sasikala and her son, Anish.”

Hameed has since been indicted on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, officials said.

For Maple Shade residents, the announcement brought a measure of relief. “A lot of us here live by ourselves, and you want to feel safe,” an elderly neighbor who lived near the Narras at the time told the Burlington County Times.

Another resident, Eric Still, told the outlet that Hameed “should be brought back here for justice in America.”

Sasikala’s family attorney, Donald Browne, said the killings shattered the family. “It was shocking more than anything else,” Browne told 6ABC Philadelphia. “A spectacular family — mother, father and child.”

Prosecutors said they have not definitively established a motive, but emphasized that under New Jersey law, proving a motive is not required to secure a murder conviction.

“He committed this crime, there is no doubt in our minds that he is responsible,” BCPO Chief of Investigations Patrick J. Thornton said, according to the release. “We are hopeful that he will be extradited. I can’t imagine the powers that be in India want to protect a man who nearly decapitated a 6-year-old child after killing his mother in front of him.”

Authorities in New Jersey are now working with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of State to seek Hameed’s extradition, the prosecutor’s office said.