Amazon Engineer Avinash Narne Charged with First-Degree Murder in Death of Wife Rajitha in Downtown Bellevue
Bellevue is confronting a grave development this week. Avinash Narne, a 30-year-old Telugu software engineer employed at Amazon, was arrested by Bellevue Police on June 27 and subsequently charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, Sabbineni Rajitha. Rajitha, 27 years old, was found unresponsive in the locked bathroom of the couple's apartment at Woodland Commons in downtown Bellevue on October 27, 2025. The King County medical examiner determined her death was a homicide caused by asphyxia due to strangulation, and an eight-month investigation led to Narne's arrest and formal charge.
Who Is Avinash Narne: The Amazon Engineer Now Facing Murder Charges
Hindustan Times examined the background of Avinash Narne, the Indian-origin Amazon engineer at the center of a first-degree murder case in Bellevue, Washington. The newspaper's framing of the story around the question of who Narne is reflects the serious public attention that this case has attracted among Indian and Indian-American audiences. Cases involving Indian-origin professionals in the United States frequently draw significant coverage in the Indian press, given the close connections between diaspora communities abroad and families in India who have relatives working in the American technology sector. Narne's employment at Amazon, one of the world's largest companies and a major employer in the greater Seattle region, places him within a large and established cohort of Telugu-speaking software professionals who have built their careers in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle and greater Puget Sound area, including Bellevue, is home to one of the largest concentrations of Telugu-speaking immigrants in the United States, many of whom work at Amazon, Microsoft, and other major technology companies. The charges against Narne have been received with deep gravity within those communities. It is important to note that charges constitute an accusation and not a determination of guilt; Narne is entitled to the full protections of due process under United States law. The Hindustan Times coverage provided a detailed account of the charges and circumstances for the large readership in India and the diaspora that follows such cases closely. The events in Bellevue have left the local Telugu community in a state of shock and mourning for Rajitha and her family. [4]
Investigation Timeline: How the Case Against Avinash Narne Unfolded Over Eight Months
The News Minute provided a detailed account of the events surrounding the death of Sabbineni Rajitha and the subsequent investigation that led to the arrest and charging of her husband, Avinash Narne. According to the report, Rajitha was found unresponsive inside the locked bathroom of the couple's apartment at Woodland Commons in downtown Bellevue on October 27, 2025. Despite the efforts of emergency responders who arrived at the scene, she was declared dead there. In the immediate aftermath, Narne reportedly told investigators that Rajitha had not been feeling well and suggested she may have consumed cough syrup before collapsing. However, the King County medical examiner conducted a thorough independent examination and determined that Rajitha's death was a homicide, concluding that she died from asphyxia due to strangulation. That ruling shifted the nature of the investigation significantly. Bellevue Police conducted an extensive investigation over the following months before arresting Narne on June 27, 2026, nearly eight months after Rajitha's death. Prosecutors filed a formal charge of first-degree murder on July 1. At the time of The News Minute's reporting, Narne was being held at the King County Jail on bail set at five million dollars. The case has been deeply painful for the Telugu community across the Pacific Northwest and in Telangana, where coverage of the events has reached a wide audience. Rajitha was 27 years old at the time of her death. Those who knew her, and the broader community that now follows this case, hold her loss with grief and solemnity. [6]
Sources: [4] Hindustan Times · [6] The News Minute