Cold Case Cracked: Police Identify Suspect in 2017 Maple Shade Murders of Mother and Son.

MAPLE SHADE, N.J. — After eight long years of unanswered questions, grief, and community frustration, Burlington County investigators have finally pointed to a suspect in one of New Jersey’s most disturbing and heartbreaking murder cases — the 2017 stabbing deaths of 38-year-old Sasikala Narra and her 6-year-old son, Anish.

For Maple Shade, the announcement landed like a thunderbolt. A crime that felt frozen in time — a double homicide so brutal it rattled even the most seasoned first responders — may finally be heading toward justice.

Authorities have identified the suspect as Nazeer Hameed, a former coworker of Sasikala’s husband, who lived in the same apartment complex at the time of the killings. Investigators say he later fled back to India, where he remains today. Now, U.S. officials are preparing for what could become a lengthy extradition fight.

This isn’t just a break in a cold case. It’s a jolt of long-awaited momentum for a community that refused to forget.

A Night That Shattered a Family

On March 23, 2017, Maple Shade Police were called to the Fox Meadow Apartments after Sasikala’s husband, Hanumantha “Hanu” Narra, returned home from work to a nightmare no one could imagine. Inside the family’s unit, Sasikala and young Anish were found in the bedroom, both stabbed multiple times in what investigators later described as a “frenzied, violent attack.”

The crime scene was so graphic, officials said, that responding officers struggled to process what they were witnessing. The victims showed defensive wounds, a sign they had fought desperately for their lives. Anish, only six years old, suffered injuries that prosecutors later called “beyond comprehension.”

The brutality of the crime shook the township and triggered widespread fear. How could a mother and her child be slaughtered inside their own home — and no one held accountable?

Rumors swirled. Speculation soared. But no arrest ever came.

Behind the scenes, though, investigators never stopped.

The DNA Detail That Changed Everything

Officials now say the case cracked open because of one detail — a single drop of blood found at the crime scene that didn’t belong to either victim or the father.

That sample sat in evidence for years as technology advanced and detectives chased new leads. The break came when investigators seized a company-issued laptop belonging to Hameed, who worked with Hanu at the tech company Cognizant Technology Solutions. DNA recovered from the laptop matched the unidentified blood from the apartment.

That forensic connection was the key that unlocked the entire theory of the case.

Prosecutors allege:

• Hameed had monitored Hanu for an extended period before the murders.
• He lived just steps away from the Narra family inside the same complex.
• He abruptly left the United States and returned to India months after the killings.

Authorities claim the DNA match — combined with Hameed’s behavior and proximity — provided the evidence necessary to charge him with the double homicide.

The Charges and the Next Battle

Burlington County prosecutors announced that Hameed has been indicted on first-degree murder charges, as well as weapons offenses connected to the killings. However, there’s a massive hurdle: he’s not on American soil.

Hameed is currently considered a fugitive, and the U.S. is now coordinating with Indian authorities on extradition proceedings — a process famous for being slow, complex, and politically delicate.

Still, investigators say they’re confident.

“We never stopped working for this family,” officials said. “Eight years may have passed, but we did not forget.”

Maple Shade Reacts — Relief, Anger, and a Demand for Justice

For residents who lived through the fear and shock of 2017, news of the suspect brought a mixture of relief and fresh heartbreak. Many still remember the candlelight vigils, the tight-knit community huddling in grief, and the frustration as the case lingered without resolution.

Now, at last, there’s movement — but not closure.

The motive remains unclear. Prosecutors are staying tight-lipped, refusing to disclose whether the killings stemmed from a personal dispute, professional tension, or something darker.

Meanwhile, the Narra family — split between New Jersey and India — has waited nearly a decade for answers and accountability.

Maple Shade now faces the long road ahead with cautious hope that justice, though delayed, is finally within reach.

Caption:

Police say they have identified a suspect in the 2017 Maple Shade murders that shocked the community.