A Bellevue software engineer accused of strangling his wife to death last fall pleaded not guilty to first degree murder this week, as new details about the alleged premeditated killing continue to emerge in court.
Avinash Narne, 30, was arrested last month in connection with the death of his wife, 27 year old Raajitha Sabbineni, who was found dead inside their downtown Bellevue apartment in October 2025. According to court documents, Narne called 911 that day and told officers his wife was locked in the bathroom and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined Sabbineni died from strangulation, prompting police to reclassify the case as a homicide. Narne and Sabbineni had entered into an arranged marriage roughly four months before her death, and investigators say Narne was involved in a secret relationship with another woman in India at the time.
Narne has denied any involvement, but prosecutors point to WhatsApp messages, door lock records, and the fact that no one else entered the apartment during the time of Sabbineni’s death as evidence against him. Investigators also noted that Narne referenced a deleted photo of his wife’s body during an interview, unprompted.
At a hearing this week, Narne’s defense attorney asked a judge to bar cameras from showing his face in court, arguing that media coverage could taint the jury pool. King County Superior Court Judge Nelson Lee denied the request, saying the jury selection process could adequately screen out anyone who’d seen the coverage. Lee kept Narne’s bail at $5 million and ordered him to surrender his passport.
Narne remains in custody at the King County Jail as the case moves toward trial.
