AP girl's cousin also found dead in US

HYDERABAD: It's a deadly double blow for the Tummala family. Even as they grieve the death of 23-year-old Soumya Reddy - who was murdered in Chicago on Sunday - came another shocker when the authorities in Missouri found the body of Soumya's cousin Tummala Vikram Kumar Reddy in a lake on Monday.

The body of 27-year-old Vikram surfaced from the lake at around 11.45 am on Monday. Vikram, son of Soumya's mother's elder sister, was working as a software engineer in Chicago. His death was expected to have taken place around the same time as Soumya's, St Louis County police official Rick Eckhard said. The St Louis County police, who said Vikram was also shot, though would not discuss the specifics but stopped short of calling the shootings a murder-suicide.

Vikram, hailing from Anksapur village in Nizamabad district, completed his engineering from Hashim College and went to the US six years ago to do an MS. "After finishing his MS, he had been working with a software company," Srinivas Reddy, a close relative of the family, told 'TOI.' Vikram's father Venkat Reddy is an employee of the telecom department, while his elder sister Pratibha is working as a doctor in Hyderabad. Soumya's mother Hemalatha lives in Venkat Reddy's house at Padmarao Nagar.

Since they came to know about Soumya's death, the family members were trying to contact Vikram, but could not reach him. "Now, comes the shocking news of Vikram's death," Srinivas Reddy said. However, the family said they haven't received any information from the US authorities on Vikram's death till Tuesday night.

Earlier, the body of Soumya, slumped in a car belonging to Vikram, was found near Sunfish Lake boat ramp close to Spanish Lake Park by early morning joggers. The car, a 1995 Ford Taurus, was registered in Vikram's name. Eckhard said it's not clear why Vikram and Soumya would have been at the park. It is learnt that Vikram and Soumya shared the house in Maryville.

The St Louis County police said investigation would continue to unravel the mystery behind the murders. No arrests have been made in connection with either death as the police believe that the deceased were the only people involved based on preliminary investigations. FBI sleuths are also investigating the case from all angles. Initially, it was said that an African-American pumped bullets into Soumya. The Spanish Lake Park is a 30-minute drive across the Illinois-Missouri state border and 20 miles from the Southern Illinois University campus at Edwardsville where Soumya was a second year student pursuing her MS in Electrical Engineering.

Soumya, who celebrated her 23rd birthday on September 7, had telephoned her mother Hemalatha on Saturday and had told her that she would come home in March next year after her exams. Some of their neighbours said the family was also planning for the marriage of Vikram and he was expected to come down in December. Vikram used to call up the family every Sunday but this Sunday he didn't. Police were also examining whether the wounds of Soumya and Vikram were from the same gun.

Praveen Dodda, president of Indian Students Association, said Soumya was a reserved person but a brilliant student. "The Indian community here is deeply shocked that Soumya and Vikram are no more," he said.

source : times of india