Friend planned $61k kidnapping, but killed baby instead

BRIDGEPORT, Pennsylvania (AP) - A family friend hoped to hold a baby girl hostage to get $50,000 from her software-engineer parents who had immigrated from India but instead killed her and her grandmother in a botched kidnapping, according to police in a Philadelphia suburb.

Raghunandan "Raghu" Yandamuri, 26, knew the infant's parents both had good jobs, and he crafted a ransom note threatening to kill their daughter if they did not leave the money at a local supermarket, police said in an affidavit filed on Friday.

"It's up to you to decide, do you want your 1-year-old or five months of your income?" the lengthy, typed note said. The plot unraveled when he dropped the baby as he juggled her and a kitchen knife and struggled with her paternal grandmother, who was watching 10-month-old Saanvi Venna on Monday during a six-month visit from India, the affidavit said.

The grandmother, 61-year-old Satyavathi Venna, was fatally stabbed and suffered defensive wounds. The suspect told police he put a handkerchief in the baby's mouth to quiet her, then wrapped a towel around her head and put her in a suitcase when he left the sixth-floor apartment, according to the affidavit.