The Hindu : Front Page : Another body found near site of Soumya’s murder

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Another body found near site of Soumya’s murder

Washington: The mystery related to the killing of a student from Andhra Pradesh in the U.S. State of Missouri deepened on Tuesday with the discovery of the body of an Indian man in a lake near the spot where her body was found.

The body of Soumya Tummala, a 22-year-old electrical engineering student at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, was spotted by passers-by in the passenger seat of a car near the Sunfish Lake boat ramp in Spanish Lake area around 8.30 a.m. on Sunday.

Detectives searching the area for clues found the body of Vikram Kumar Tummala, 27, in the lake three hours later, local newspapers St. Louis Post and Belleville News Democrat reported. His body also bore a bullet wound, they said.

Police said they believed Vikram Tummala was related to Soumya Tummala, but was not her husband or brother. They lived at different addresses in Maryville.

St. Louis County police did not discuss specific details and stopped short of calling the shootings a murder-suicide, but they said no one else was involved, according to Post.

The Ford Taurus car, in which Soumya’s body was found, was registered in Vikram’s name, police said.

“What we’re trying to find out now is why these two individuals from Maryville, Illinois, were up in such a remote area of St. Louis County,” police spokesman Rick Eckhard said.

Investigation to continue

He said a relative of Soumya flew to the area and identified her body. “The investigation will continue as we work with the medical examiner’s office and interview family and friends,” Mr. Eckhard said. — PTI

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