Fetus to be kept in landlord case
By Matthew Yi
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Friday, March 31, 2000
©2000 San Francisco Examiner

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/31/landlord.dtl



Judge orders autopsy samples from Indian girl to be preserved

OAKLAND -- A federal judge has ordered authorities to preserve tissue and fluid samples from the fetus of a teenager who died after she was allegedly smuggled from India by a Berkeley landlord who sought sex with her.

The girl, first identified as Sitha Vemireddy, 17, and her younger sister were found unconscious in their one-bedroom apartment in downtown Berkeley after succumbing to carbon monoxide fumes from a faulty wall heater on the day before Thanksgiving.

Sitha was pronounced dead at Alta Bates Medical Center. Her sister survived.

An autopsy later revealed she was pregnant when she died.

Both federal and local authorities have charged that Berkeley landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy had smuggled the two sisters and at least one other young woman from his home village of Velvadam in south India so he could have sex with them.

According to court papers filed Tuesday, both federal prosecutors and defense attorneys asked that the tissue and bodily fluid samples from Sitha's autopsy be preserved.

U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong granted the request last Friday.

"It is hereby ordered that all tissue samples and bodily fluids, including any embryo or fetus and any material from an embryo or fetus shall be preserved and that no test or other procedure that detracts from the integrity of the material shall be conducted unless by written agreement of the United States, the Berkeley Police Department, and the defendants, or unless ordered by the Court," Armstrong wrote.

Reddy, who owns more than 1,100 apartment units in the East Bay, faces a variety of federal charges, including illegally bringing in immigrants from India and smuggling underage girls from his home village for immoral purposes.

Reddy was freed on $10 million bail in January and was ordered to stay with his brother in Merced until his trial begins.

Reddy's son, Vijay Kumar Lakireddy, also has been charged with conspiring to bring Indians to the United States by fraudulently using a skilled-worker visa program. He set up a software company in Berkeley and used it to sponsor visas, according to court papers. Lakireddy has been released on $500,000 bail.

One of the people allegedly brought in illegally was Venkateswara Vemireddy, who pleaded innocent last week in federal court to conspiring to smuggle in illegal immigrants plus aiding and abetting. He was released to a halfway house on $50,000 bond.

According to court papers, Reddy made a deal with Vemireddy to pay off his debt in India and pay for airplane tickets to the United States for him and his sister. In return, Vemireddy agreed to pose as the father of Sitha and her sister, and bring the girls into the United States.

Reddy's attorney Ted Cassman earlier denied accusations that his client had sex with the girls. The attorney said the evidence from Sitha's autopsy will show that she had sex with someone other than Reddy.

Both Cassman and Lakireddy's attorney, George Cotsirilos, did not return calls Thursday.

Berkeley police investigators have not ordered any tests of the samples, Berkeley police Capt. Bobby Miller said Thursday.

"But that doesn't preclude us from any testing in the future," he said. As for DNA testing, "it's quite expensive, but if it's believed that it can help solve a case or help resolve an investigation, sure, we won't hesitate to do it."

Berkeley police Lt. Bob Maloney, who is heading the investigation, said last week he is in contact with the Alameda County district attorney's office, which is considering state charges against Reddy. However, it was unknown if or when state charges would be filed.

Reddy and Lakireddy's next federal court hearing is set for April 11.

©2000 San Francisco Examiner