Fugitive arrested in India upon suspicion of killing wife, two children in Detroit in 2008

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A day after the slayings of his wife and two children, Lakshminivasa Nerusu, an unemployed computer programmer, reportedly boarded a flight from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, pictured above, on a one-way ticket to India. Tyler Brownbridge/Postmedia News

NOVI, Mich. — A man on the run since the 2008 slayings of his wife and two children in their suburban Detroit home has been arrested in his native India.

Lakshminivasa Rao Nerusu was taken into custody by police in Andhra Pradesh, near Hyderabad, according to police in Novi, Mich.

Details of Nerusu’s capture were not available. Novi police were notified Wednesday of his arrest by the U.S. State Department legal attache in New Delhi.

Jayalakshmi Nerusu, 37; the couple’s 14-year-old daughter, Tejasvi; and 12-year-old son, Siva, were killed Oct. 13, 2008. Police checking on the family’s welfare found their bludgeoned bodies two weeks later.

A day after the slayings, Lakshminivasa Nerusu, an unemployed computer programmer, boarded a flight from Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a one-way ticket to India.

The Oakland County prosecutor’s office in Michigan issued a three-count, first-degree murder warrant in early November 2008. Lakshminivasa Nerusu also was charged by federal officials with leaving Michigan to avoid prosecution.

The FBI and international agencies joined in the search for Nerusu.

“We look forward to Mr. Nerusu returning to Michigan to face the consequences of these horrific crimes,” said David Molloy, Novi police chief.

It could take several years if Nerusu contests extradition, Molloy added. The federal Justice and State departments are handling that process.

First-degree murder convictions carry automatic sentences of life in prison without parole.