Vizag techie given death sentence

Norristown, Pennsylvania: The judge sentenced Raghunandan Yandamuri, a techi, who hailed from Visakhapatnam, to death for the murders of an old woman and her grand-daughter.

Raghunandan was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of Satyavathi Venna (61) and the kidnapping and killing of her 10-month-old grand-daughter Saanvi Venna. The horrific crime happened in 2012 in Upper Merion.

Investigators say Raghunandan was a neighbour and friend of the Venna family and carried out kidnapping of the baby to try and get $50,000 ransom to pay off a gambling debt. Prosecutors called the death sentence imposed on the techie a just verdict by jurors. The victims’ family was not present when the sentence was awarded. "If he had expressed remorse we would have had a better chance of saving his life but that wasn't his strategy and here we are," said Defence Attorney Henry Hilles.