New Delhi: Two women from Kerala have died in separate incidents in California, one after being struck by an SUV in Milpitas and the other following a stabbing at a residence in nearby San Jose. A woman known to both victims has been detained, although US authorities have not publicly confirmed that the two deaths are connected.
Relatives identified the victims as Anjana Hari, 35, from Thrissur, and Ann Mary Mathew, 40, from Thiruvananthapuram. They also identified the woman in custody as Anila, 32, a native of Kottayam, but the police have not officially released the names of either the victims or the suspect.
Milpitas police were called to the Mill Creek Apartments at 440 Dixon Landing Road at about 12.01pm local time on August 28 following reports of a hit-and-run collision in the parking area. Officers found a 35-year-old woman with severe injuries, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses reported seeing a blue SUV leave immediately after the collision, according to a statement from the Milpitas police department. Officers subsequently found a damaged vehicle matching that description in a nearby parking area and arrested its driver, a 32-year-old Milpitas resident.
Less than two hours later, at approximately 1.53pm local time, officers in San Jose responded to a report of suspicious circumstances at a residence in the 700 block of Linda Vista Street. They found an unconscious and unresponsive woman inside the property, and emergency personnel declared her dead at the scene.
The Santa Clara County medical examiner determined that the woman had suffered at least one stab wound, prompting the police to classify the death as San Jose’s 17th homicide of 2026. Preliminary inquiries established that the victim and an adult female suspect knew each other, the San Jose police department said.
Relatives have alleged that the woman detained after Hari’s death was also responsible for Mathew’s killing. However, neither the Milpitas police department nor the San Jose police department has publicly confirmed that the suspect in the two investigations is the same person or formally explained how the cases may be connected, the News Minute reported.
Family members said the three women knew one another and had participated in an Onam celebration with their families days before the deaths. Reports suggesting that a workplace disagreement may have provided a motive remain unverified, and investigators have not disclosed what preceded either incident.
Hari had moved to the US with her family in 2021 and was working as a teacher in California, according to her relatives. She is survived by her husband, Vijeesh, a software professional, and their six-year-old daughter.
Mathew had lived in the US with her husband, Jacob, and their two daughters, aged 12 and five. Her husband reportedly went to the Linda Vista Street residence after learning of Hari’s death and found that Mathew had also been attacked, according to the Indian Express.
The chief minister of Kerala, VD Satheesan, and the Union minister of state for tourism, Suresh Gopi, have spoken with the bereaved families. Officials are coordinating with the consulate general of India in San Francisco and US authorities to complete the procedures required to bring the bodies to Kerala.
Gopi said the bodies would be released to registered funeral homes after post-mortem examinations and other legal formalities were completed. The timetable remains dependent on the two police investigations and the documentation required by the authorities in California.
Both investigations remain active, with the circumstances of the fatal collision and the motive for the San Jose homicide still undetermined. Until the US authorities release further findings, claims about the sequence of events and the responsibility for both deaths remain allegations based primarily on information received by the victims’ families.