Three homes, no answers: Shock and disbelief in Keralam over California murders

In three Keralam neighbourhoods, the California twin murders have turned an otherwise distant tragedy into a deeply personal shock.

In Mudikode in Thrissur, Kesavadasapuram in Thiruvananthapuram, and Thazhachavayal in Erattupetta, people who knew the three women—two victims and the alleged killer—are struggling to understand how a friendship that appeared ordinary could end in the killing of two of them.

Anjana Hari, 35, and Ann Mary Mathew, 40, were allegedly killed in Milpitas, California, on August 28. Their friend Anila, a native of Erattupetta, Kottayam, has been taken into custody by Milpitas police department in connection with the deaths. US authorities are investigating the incident as a homicide. The motive has not yet been established.

For people in Keralam, however, the immediate reaction has been less about the investigation and more about disbelief.

Anila was ‘calm and soft-spoken’

In Thazhachavayal, where Anila grew up, neighbours say they are finding it difficult to connect the allegations with the woman they knew. People in the locality said Anila was the daughter of Doctor Baby and Jolly Baby, a family that has enjoyed a good reputation among residents and relatives.

“She was known to be a very calm and soft-spoken person,” neighbours said. They recalled her as someone who behaved well with relatives and neighbours. The family is well known in the area and financially secure, they said. “No one is able to believe that such an incident could have happened,” said people familiar with the family.

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The reaction is particularly strong because Anila and the two women killed in California were reportedly friends. There is little in the accounts reaching her native place that helps neighbours understand what could have happened between them.

Painful contradiction

Local residents said Anila had studied at ARS College in Bharananganam. She moved to the US about four years ago and, according to people in the locality, had been working for a private company there. She is an engineering graduate.

For the people who watched her grow up, the allegations have, therefore, created a painful contradiction between the woman they remember and the woman described in the California investigation.

They are waiting for more details before drawing any conclusions.

No clarity for Ann Mary’s family

The same sense of disbelief is being felt in Kesavadasapuram, where Ann Mary Mathew’s family is waiting for answers.

Tressiamma Thomas, the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation councillor who has known the family for years, said the family had not received a clear explanation of what had happened.

“There is still no clarity for the family about who did this or why it happened. They have not received any clear information about that either,” she said.

Ann was the younger daughter of Jiji Mathew, who was a bank officer, and the late Bessy G Mathew. Her mother, a retired teacher, died around eight years ago. Her elder sister lives with her family in Muscat.

‘They were reportedly close friends’

Ann had moved to the US about five years ago. Before that, she worked in Bengaluru in the IT sector. She moved to the US after her marriage in Kottayam’s Chingavanam.

Her most recent visit to Kerala was only in June. She had come home for her father’s birthday, Tressiamma said. Both sisters had returned to Keralam and stayed for around two weeks.

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“The neighbours and relatives have only good things to say about the family,” she said. That makes the circumstances of her death even harder to comprehend for those who knew her. The suspected involvement of a friend has added another layer to the shock.

“As far as we understand, the young woman who is suspected of attacking them was also a friend of these women. They were reportedly close friends,” Tressiamma said. “But we still do not know why it happened.”

The ward councillor also said the family was waiting for more information from the investigation in the US.

‘We first heard it was an accident’

In Mudikode near Mannuthy in Thrissur, Anjana’s relatives are also trying to piece together what happened.

Rajagopal, a relative, said the family initially received information that Anjana had died in a vehicle accident. “We initially got the information that she had died in a vehicle accident. Later, her husband Vijeesh’s friends called and clarified it was a murder. They also told us that another woman had been killed,” he said.

The news was difficult to process, partly because Anjana and the other women were believed to have been close. The three reportedly spent time together and had celebrated Onam together. People familiar with them have also said that they had gone to watch a film shortly before the killings.

For those in Mudikode, there had been nothing to suggest that such a violent end was approaching. Anjana, a teacher in California, had been living in the US with her husband Vijeesh, a software engineer. The couple have a six-year-old daughter.

Anjana had last visited Kerala in 2023, relatives said. Her family is now waiting for the formalities in the US to be completed before her remains can be brought home.

Three homes, one unanswered question

The accounts from the three native places have one common thread. None of the families appears to have an explanation for what led to the killings.

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There have been reports of a possible dispute linked to employment. But the information has not been officially established as the motive, and relatives of the victims have received differing accounts.

The police investigation in California is still underway. What is known so far is that the incident took place at the Mill Creek Apartments on Dixon Landing Road in Milpitas.

Police responded to a report of a hit-and-run in the apartment parking lot shortly after noon. A woman was found critically injured and later died. A blue SUV was subsequently located nearby and Anila was arrested.

Ann Mary was later found dead inside an apartment with stab wounds, according to information shared with relatives. The precise sequence of events and what happened between the three friends remain part of the investigation.