Jury imposes death sentence on KoP killer

A Montgomery County Court jury Tuesday sentenced a King of Prussia man to death for murdering a baby and her grandmother in a 2012 kidnapping plot that went horribly wrong.

Jurors convicted 28-year-old Raghunandan Yandamuri of first-degree murder last week in the stabbing death of Satyavathi Venna, 61, and the suffocation death of her 10-month-old granddaughter, Saanvi Venna.

The jury, which deliberated for about 31/2 hours Tuesday, could have chosen to sentence Yandamuri to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Yandamuri had no visible reaction to the announcement. He looked down and continued scribbling notes, as he had for much of the monthlong trial in Norristown.

Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele and Deputy District Attorney Samantha Cauffman said the sentence was what the victims' family wanted.

"It's not going to give them back what they lost, but it is a sense of closure for them," Cauffman said.

Henry S. Hilles, Yandamuri's attorney for the trial's sentencing phase, said that he was disappointed but that he had prepared Yandamuri for the possibility of the death penalty. Aside from a mountain of incriminating evidence in the case, Yandamuri's decision to represent himself for the first phase of the trial stacked the odds against him, Hilles said.

"I felt that if he had expressed remorse, he would have had a better chance at saving his life," Hilles said.

Hilles said it was unclear whether Yandamuri would represent himself when he appeals the verdict. Formal sentencing will be scheduled within 45 days.

Prosecutors said Yandamuri, a former information-technology worker who emigrated from India on a work visa, plotted to kidnap the child for ransom money to feed his gambling habit and killed the grandmother when she got in his way.

Yandamuri maintained his innocence throughout, showing no emotion even during moments when jurors were moved to tears.

In making their decision, the five women and seven men on the jury considered aggravating factors such as the elements of Yandamuri's crimes and mitigating factors such as testimony regarding his gambling addiction and mental state.

Earlier Tuesday, at the conclusion of Yandamuri's sentencing hearing, Steele asked jurors to hand down the death penalty because Yandamuri committed the murders as part of a plan to carry out additional crimes, such as holding the child for ransom.

He also reminded jurors of testimony from a pathologist who said the infant died painfully with a great "hunger for air."

"I would ask you to think about the last moments of that innocent child's life," he said.

Hilles implored jurors to sentence Yandamuri to life behind bars, saying Yandamuri had no prior criminal record and a history of mental illness. A forensic psychologist had testified that Yandamuri suffers from bipolar disorder that impairs his judgment and emotional control.

"I am not standing up here asking for leniency," Hilles said. "Life in prison without parole is a horrible way to live."

Last week, Yandamuri told Montgomery County Court Judge Steven T. O'Neill he would rather take the death penalty than sit through the sentencing hearing. He agreed to remain in court for the hearing after speaking with his attorney.

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