Report on Indian American Couple’s Murder Recounts Gruesome Sequence of Events

A 69-page report about the murder of Indian American couple in Silicon Valley last year, released by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office, recounts the horrifying sequence of events. Naren Prabhu, who was the vice president of engineering at Juniper Networks, and his wife were shot dead last year by a young man who was obsessed with their daughter.

A series of interviews with their children reveal that Mirza Tatlic, who killed the couple in their house at San Jose, California, was obsessed with Rachel Prabhu for about a year before the murder. Tatlic was killed on May 3 night by San Jose Police Department sniper Jacob Morris. According to the Santa Clara District Attorney’s report released on Jan. 18, Morris acted lawfully, given that Tatlic had a loaded gun pointed at a hostage, and the intense escalation of the crisis.

The hostage in question was the Prabhu’s young son. “Your disgusting parents are dead,” Tatlic reportedly told him while keeping him captive, according to the report.

The young boy told the police that Tatlic held a gun to his head and ordered him to obey all of his demands. His older brother, Neil, escaped and called the police from a neighbor’s house.

Tatlic was obsessed with Rachel, and repeatedly tried to meet and contact her, despite restraining orders and other security measures, India West reported.

Rachel met Mirza Tatlic in July 2016 through mutual friends. The two began meeting for lunch and drinks. As per the report, Rachel had a boyfriend from whom she was taking a break. Tatlic was aware of that relationship.

However, within weeks of meeting her, Tatlic became controlling and obsessive, frequently speaking of wedding plans and the children they would have, Rachel told the police. On Sept. 3, 2016, Tatlic came to Prabhu’s home with flowers, to “surprise” Rachel, the report said. As Rachel’s parents had previously expressed their dislike for him, Rachel attempted to hide him in her bedroom, and left him alone there for a few minutes.

When she returned to the room, Tatlic was drinking a bottle of tequila. After having seen an instant message on Rachel’s computer screen from her boyfriend, Tatlic got violently angry with her, punching her, ripping off her shirt. Her parents intervened when Rachel yelled loudly for them, she told the police.

Following that altercation, the Prabhus installed a surveillance system and the family learnt that Tatlic’s mother and sister had placed restraining orders against him because of his history of violence and erratic behavior.

On Nov. 30, 2016, Tatlic forced himself on Rachel. As she tried to fend him off, Tatlic put his hands around Rachel’s neck and squeezed hard until she lost consciousness, according to report. He was there when she regained consciousness. Two days later, Tatlic assaulted Rachel again, punching, kicking, and head-butting her. The Boston police arrested him after Rachel called them. On Dec. 5, 2016, Rachel was granted a restraining order.

After that, Tatlic began trying to contact Rachel via her brother Neil. On May 3 last year, when Tatlic shot Naren and Raynah Prabhu, he took his young hostage’s cell phone and called Rachel. “I killed your parents,” he told her, according to the district attorney’s report.