Saanvi murder case: Raghunandan gets death penalty

An American court on Tuesday sentenced Yandamuri Raghunandan to death for brutally killing 10-month-old child Saanvi.

Earlier, he was convicted on two counts of first degree murder by a jury in Saanvi Venna and her grandmother's murder case.

Meanwhile, Raghunandan committed a gruesome murder of 10-month-old Saanvi and her 61-year old grandmother Satyavathi Venna at their apartment at King of Prussia in Pennsylvania in the US on October22, 2012.

Saanvi was only daughter of her parents. This judgement gave some comfort to the victim's family. But Raghu's mother wailed in court room immediately after verdict and requested the jury to spare her sons life.

Raghunandan, a software techie from Andhra Pradesh, was a family friend of Saanvi's parents. Mired in debts due to heavy gambling, Raghu kidnapped the child and planned to ransom for money. But ended up killing the child.

Raghu had reportedly left a note demanding a ransom of $ 50,000 and warning of killing the girl if the parents approached the police.

Police suspected Raghu based on the familiarity with which victims were addressed by the abductor. When questioned, Raghu admitted to the abduction and murder.