By IANS,
Hyderabad : The family of one of the two Andhra students murdered in the US last year has expressed satisfaction over the arrest of three people for the crime.
Family members of Allam Kiran Kumar said that while their loss could never be compensated, there was a sense of satisfaction that the motive behind the murder has been established.
“At last we have the satisfaction that the motive behind the crime is established. Justice has been done to some extent,” Allam Narayana, paternal uncle of Kiran Kumar, told IANS.
“We are also sad that they committed the grave crime just for the sake of some money and valuables,” he said.
Three Afro-American youths were Thursday arrested by Louisiana police for the murder of the two students. Six months after the crime, the police established the motive as robbery.
Allam Kiran Kumar, 33, and Komma Chandrasekhar Reddy, 31, both Phd students of Louisiana State University (LSU), were murdered at the former’s house Dec 13, 2007.
Police said the three attackers broke into Kiran’s apartment and shot dead the two friends. It was Kiran’s pregnant wife, Swapna, who found the bodies and called the police.
Kiran’s father Allam Rajaiah, a writer, is currently in the US where Kiran’s wife is expecting their first child.
“My brother informed me that three persons were arrested. They are blacks and all are teenagers,” he said.
Police first arrested Devin Jamell Parker, 19, and based on his interrogation, two others, Michael Jermaine Lewis, 19, and Casey Gathers, 20, were taken into custody.
A native of Karimnagar district, Kiran, who was studying for doctorate in chemistry, was to complete his studies this year.
He had married Swapna, a software engineer, in 2005. She had joined her husband in August last year.
Chandrasekhara Reddy, who was doing Ph.D in biochemistry, was a native of Kadpa district.
Son of a retired forest officer Sambasiva Reddy, he had no relatives in the US and his friend Kiran was his only support. He was also married.