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PHILADELPHIA -- The man charged in the murder of a baby and her grandmother during a botched kidnapping and ransom scheme claimed that he killed both victims by accident, according to video released during his court appearance Wednesday.
Raghunandan Yandamuri, 26, is accused of murdering 10-month-old Saanvi Venna and her grandmother, Satyavathi Venna, 61, last month. It happened on Oct. 22, at an apartment complex in Upper Merion where both the Venna family and Yandamuri, a family friend, lived.
Police believe Yandamuri went to the apartment with the intention of kidnapping Saanvi and holding her for ransom. But police say Satyavathi, who was babysitting the child, fought for her granddaughter and was fatally stabbed by Yandamuri.
On Oct. 26, the baby's body was found in the basement of the apartment building and Yandamuri was arrested. Police say they also found a ransom note from Yandamuri demanding $50,000.
'Didn't mean to kill anyone'
On Wednesday, Yandamuri appeared in court for a preliminary hearing. During the hearing, a 23-minute video confession was played for the court, according to NBC10's Deanna Durante.
In the video, Yandamuri told police he "accidentally" slit Satyavathi Venna's throat and that he "didn't mean to kill anyone." The video also showed him confessing to stuffing a handkerchief in the baby's mouth and wrapping a towel around her head when she wouldn't stop crying.
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Yandamuri said in the video that he put the baby in a suitcase, escaped via a fire escape and sneaked into the basement of another apartment building.
Yandamuri also told police that when he took Saanvi out of the suitcase the towel was still wrapped around her face and she was unconscious. He said he removed the towel and handkerchief, splashed water on her and left her in the basement while he returned home, took a shower and went to work.
He also told police he went back to the basement around 3:30 p.m. with a bottle of milk for the girl but that she was already dead.
Yandamuri's defense attorney argued in court that since his client did not mean to kill anyone, first-degree murder should be taken off the table. Prosecutors disagreed, citing Yandamuri's ransom note as evidence against the attorney's claim.
According to prosecutors, 10 copies of the ransom note were left in the apartment of the Venna family with several references that if they didn't bring $50,000 by 8 p.m. that night that the baby would be killed. Prosecutors say that showed there was intention and premeditation for murder. The judge agreed with the prosecutors and ordered that Yandamuri stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, theft and abuse of corpse.
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The problem with our so called judicial system is that the punishment never fits the crime.An eye for an eye. Or,he'll hire good old Baez who will say the baby drowned and some numb nuts jury will let him go.
Seems legit to me. But how do you identically slit someones throat. Then not mean to kill another by stuffing a rag in their mouth and wrap their head with a towel.?? But other than that it all seems legit... NOT!!!
How many times did the knife accidentally stab the grandmother. He didn't, but the knife just jumped up into his hands and stabbed? Wow. Just think of all the "accidents" that happen.
Makes me think of the line from the movie Chicago. "My knife accidentally stabbed him 16 times."
Anyone who would think of kidnapping a child for money instead of doing what most normal people do, go out and get a job and WORK for your money is a loser anyway you look at it.
How in the world do you "accidently" slit someones throat and stuff a rag into a babies mouth?
Oh the "accidents" that I hope befall this POS while in jail...
I'd like to accidentally get my hands on this guy and accidentally beat him to death.
And we keep bringing them in! ACORN will put him on welfare and register him to vote.
He better not get the Casey Anthony jury because we know how smart they are.
you were there?
Let's start at the beginning. How and why are people allowed to immigrate into our country that have no real means of supporting themselves at a decent level or cannot bring any positive abilities to enhance this country.
I'm all for immigration but we certainly need to be more selective of who is allowed in the country.
Not only has he killed a poor innocent child and grandmother, brought shame to his family but we get to pay with our tax dollars for his legal defense. Ridiculous!
Well, woopsies, things happen huh? You sick freak. I hope someone in prison has a few woopsies with you.
First of all this guy says he accidentally had a knife and slit the throat of the grandmother. Then he accidentally put a handkerchief in the mouth of the baby, then accidentally wrapped its head in a towel, suffocating it. Then splashed water on its face to 'revive' it, left it in a basement, went home, took a shower and went to work. He returned hours later with a bottle. Everybody knows that infants that take bottles need more than one a day. But we are supposed to believe that this all was an accident. The only accident that HE was concerned about was not getting the ransom money.
As for prisons, most prisons are full of people that are mentally ill. I think the figure is 70% of all prisoners are mentally ill. That is because most of the mental hospitals were closed in the 70s and 80s. THAT is why prisons are overcrowded.
and that is true and we can thank the liberals for this also, as well as letting scum into our country with their liberal "immigration" "Policies".
Lets hang this piece of @!$%# out of a very tall building and say we didn't mean to drop him.
Why do we let this @!$%# immigrate to our country. Put a bullet in his head and save us some money.
Execute this towelhead NOW!!!
fkn haji terrorist........execute him and the rest of his family
"Alleged"? I'm pretty sure we can call this one the real deal.
I say hangem High boys!! He will make a great cell b---ch!! Can I get a amen :> send him to alliaha and see 14 virgins!!!! that dont exist!!
"Gosh, I only stabbed grandma a few times, and the old fool up and died on me. I didn't mean to do it...I only came with a knife for decoration on a bad ass! The baby, sorry, but that was only collateral damage." This miserable puke needs to be shipped back to where he came from in a wooden box (dead of accidental stab wounds)of course.
Hangem high boys!! Let god sort it out!! I would like to perform some Jihad on his a-s!! Then he can go see all the so-called virgins :>
Our society as a whole will not advance until we change our "throw away" attitude towards prisoners.
What happens to prison inmates who get out on shorter sentences after being "discarded" by society ? Does anyone consider the threat these ex inmates pose on society and themselves ?
They are in prison to be reformed, not tortured.
I suppose some want the torture racks brought back ?
What if it was your brother, and he was wrongfully convicted ?
Would you say: "They get what they deserve" then too ?
Most here are not wanting to torture him. They are wanting him to be killed quickly. He is not wrongfully convicted. He ADMITTED it. It was a mistake. He didnt mean to. So to keep him from being "forgotten" just kill his ass and let the ocean have whats left of him.
So many criminals are sorry for their actions, after they get caught. And others, like this guy, did not know how to kidnap, so he accidentally killed his hostage, effectively ending his chance for the 'big' payoff.
The fact that he was seeking $50,000.00, a rather paltry sum, in my opinion, shows that he knows almost nothing about how to be a criminal. For that fact alone, corrections should accidentally forget to tend to his basic needs while enjoying his stay at 'Club Fed.'
I pray his punishment is swift and final-whichever country will expedite that, let them have him.
mike277
They are going to paint an arrow on your cell floor...not to point to Mecca to pray, but to point to you so others in prison can ram your butt everyday!
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He is not Muslim so he won't be praying to Mecca. With that name, he may be Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or even an atheist. Brush up on your geography and while you're at it read more about the people the people of South Asia. You'll find out that many religions exist in South Asia.
Don't worry, your comments reflect that you have been watching too much brainwashing media, sorry I mean mainstream media!
I'm not typically in support of the death penalty...but someone needs to KILL THIS WORTHLESS PIECE OF GARBAGE. Hell, give me a knife and I'll do it free of charge!
Seriously, someone this stupid should be eradicated from our gene pool. I am only two years older than this guy...what is wrong with my generation?
Good! Let him be given the justice he deserves. And let those people kill each and extinct out - their population is WAY higher than what it should be, for this country.