Hyderabad: Last rites held for Nikitha Godishala, who was murdered in US
Nikitha was killed in Howard County in Columbia, Maryland, on New Year's Eve, and cops believe her ex-roommate, Arjun Sharma, stabbed her, reported her missing
By Newsmeter Network
Hyderabad: Family and friends bid a tearful adieu to Nikitha Godishala, the 27-year-old Hyderabad woman who was killed in the US on New Year's Eve.
On Friday, the mortal remains of Nikitha arrived at the RGI airport and were cremated on the same day.
Nikitha was killed in Howard County in Columbia, Maryland, on New Year's Eve, and cops believe her ex-roommate, Arjun Sharma, stabbed her, reported her missing, and then fled to India. Arjun Sharma was later arrested by the Interpol in Tamil Nadu.
Her father, Anand Godishal, accused Arjuna Sharma of killing his daughter over a monetary dispute. He dismissed reports that Sharma was the deceased's former boyfriend. Godishala said Sharma was her former roommate. Anand denied conflicting reports about her daughter's death. "The 26-year-old suspect was not my daughter's ex-boyfriend but was her roommate earlier, along with two others. My daughter went to Columbia four years ago."
According to investigators, Sharma filed a missing-person report on January 2, claiming he had last seen Nikitha on New Year’s Eve at his apartment. However, police said he left the United States for India later the same day. On January 3, detectives executed a search warrant at his apartment, where they found Godishala’s body bearing visible stab wounds. Investigators believe the killing occurred after 7 pm on December 31.
“There was obviously some premeditation to be able to do this and then to flee the country, so that’s what we have right now as far as charges,” Howard County Police spokesperson Seth Hoffman said.
Nikitha Godishala was a resident of Ellicott City, Howard County, and worked as a healthcare professional with expertise in data analytics.
According to her father, the motive behind her killing was financial and not any dispute in a romantic relationship. He asked the media to refrain from spreading unnecessary rumors about her daughter. "Four people used to stay in an apartment. The accused used to take a lot of money from my daughter. When she asked him to return the money, he killed her and ran away," said Anand.
