Saanvi Venna Murder: Alleged Kidnapper ‘Didn’t Mean To Kill Anyone’

King of Prussia, PA – Ten-month-old Saanvi was kidnapped, gagged with a handkerchief, then shoved in a suitcase. When she wouldn’t stop crying, her kidnapper allegedly wrapped her head in a towel, then left her unconscious while he went to work. She died alone in an apartment basement.

But the kidnapper claims that he “didn’t meant to kill” the baby girl. Raghunandan Yandamuri was arrested in late October for the murder of Saanvi and her grandmother, Satyavathi Venna.

In a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Yandamuri appeared in court. During the hearing, a video confession was played. In the 23-minute confession, Yandamuri told police that he “accidentally” slit Venna’s throat and that he “didn’t mean to kill anyone.” He confesses how he stuffed baby Saanvi into a suitcase and gagged her with a handkerchief. He wrapped her head in a towel “when she wouldn’t stop crying,” and took her to the basement of a nearby apartment complex.

Yandamuri continued to tell police that when he took Saanvi out of the suitcase and unwrapped the towel from her face, she was unconscious. The video depicts the kidnapper saying that he splashed some water on her face and left her in the basement. He had to go to work. He returned at 3:30 pm, allegedly to bring the baby a bottle of milk.

The baby was already dead.

Despite the various ransom notes left around the house claiming that Yandamuri would harm the baby if ransom wasn’t made, the kidnapper’s defense attorney argued that “since his client did not mean to kill anyone, first-degree murder should be taken off the table.”

Prosecutors disagreed.

According to the prosecution, 10 copies of ransom notes were left in the Venna family’s apartment. One read: “If you want your daughter alive and safe, follow our instructions carefully. Any cunning act from anyone of your will lead to your daughter’s death.”

The note called for $50,000 to be delivered by 8 pm the day of the child’s disappearance. An Amber Alert was issued for the baby girl, but investigators found her body overnight.

The ransom note was found near the body of the slain grandmother, who was slit across the throat.

Investigators believe the murders are a case of kidnapping gone wrong. Yandamuri, 26, fatally stabbed Satyavathi when she fought for her grandchild.

Satyavanthi was babysitting the baby while her parents were out of the house.

The judge overseeing the case ordered that Yandamuri stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, theft, and abuse of corpse.