Indian-origin woman from Andhra, six-year-old son murdered in New Jersey home

An Indian IT professional and her seven-year-old son in the United States (US) were found with their throats slit, prompting the police to launch a criminal investigation into the brutal killing.

Sasikala, 40, and her son Anish Sai were found dead in their home in Burlington, New Jersey when her husband Narra Hanumanth Rao returned from work on Thursday.

Indian-American community leader and president of the non-profit Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) Prasad Thotakura said that according to the information he has, Rao allegedly found his wife and child "in a pool of blood" and "with their throats slit".

Indian origin mother-son found murdered in New Jersey home: Family of the deceased persons in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada mourn the loss pic.twitter.com/pQ1KKiWgkh

— ANI (@ANI_news) March 24, 2017

According to information available so far, Sasikala had picked up her son from school in the afternoon and returned home. Their bodies were later found in their home by her husband. 

Thotakura said the police have launched a criminal investigation into the case and are looking into motives behind the murder, including the possibilities of any foul play. He added that no details are yet available to ascertain if the case involved any domestic dispute.

He said the Telugu Association of North America is helping the family to send the bodies back to India. The couple worked in the IT fields and had been living in the US for the last 12 years. 

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed his condolences by tweeting the following.

Pained to hear about the killing of Sasikala & son Sai in New Jersey, US. My condolences to the family members.

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) March 24, 2017

The incident comes when there has been a recent surge of hate crimes against Indians in the US. Earlier in March, a Sikh man was shot and wounded in Washington State by an attacker who approached him in his driveway and told him to leave the country.