Highlights:
A 30-YEAR-OLD Indian engineer has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife at their home in the US state of Washington, nearly nine months after she was found dead, according to local media reports.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Avinash Narne with one count of first-degree murder on July 1.
Narne, who was arrested in late June, remains in custody on $5 million bail. Prosecutors allege he killed his wife after planning the crime and staged the scene before police arrived. They also allege he was involved in a secret romantic relationship with another woman in India and sent her photos of his wife’s dead body over WhatsApp, Fox13 Seattle reported.
Bellevue police said Narne and his wife, 27-year-old Raajitha Sabbineni, had been married for only a few months through an arranged marriage when she was found dead in a locked bathroom at their Bellevue home in Washington state.
According to court documents, Bellevue police officers responded to the Woodland Commons Apartments on October 27 last year after receiving a 911 call from Narne, who said his wife was locked inside a bathroom and was unresponsive.
Officers found Sabbineni lying dead on the bathroom floor. Despite efforts by first responders to revive her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Narne, who worked with Amazon, allegedly told police he “came home and found this situation.” He and Sabbineni had entered into an arranged marriage about four months before her death.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled that Sabbineni died from asphyxia due to strangulation. Following that finding, Bellevue police upgraded the case from a suspicious death investigation to a homicide investigation.
Police said Narne was involved in a secret romantic relationship with a woman in India at the time of his wife’s death.
Although Narne denied any involvement in his wife’s death, investigators cited WhatsApp messages and electronic door lock records as evidence in probable cause documents.
Investigators said no one entered the couple’s apartment during the time of Sabbineni’s death except Narne. They also said he spontaneously referred to a deleted picture of his wife’s body during an interview.
According to local media reports, police examined Narne’s cell phones, Google, WhatsApp and Instagram accounts, which allegedly showed that he “had a secret romantic relationship with another woman” in India.
“Avinash appeared to have initiated an engagement with [the other woman] and provided her with what appeared to be an engagement ring in late 2024,” local media reported, quoting the affidavit filed in court.
“Despite her parents refusing the engagement, Avinash and [the other woman] continued to have daily contact via WhatsApp calls and texts and were sexually intimate in January 2025 based on timestamped images,” the affidavit said.
Even after marrying Sabbineni, Narne allegedly remained in regular contact with the other woman and began “proclaiming his love to her” and “wishes to be together.”
Police said he also invited the other woman to his wedding in June 2025, which she attended as a guest. According to investigators, Narne continued communicating with the other woman through WhatsApp the day after his wife’s death.
“Additionally, Avinash appeared to have sent a message to [the other woman] which he then deleted. [The other woman] responded to the deleted message with what looks like a ‘staring eyes’ emoji,” the affidavit said.
Detectives asked Narne about the deleted message and he “spontaneously referenced” a deleted picture of his wife’s body, according to the affidavit.
