MILPITAS — A South Bay woman has been charged with murder after authorities say she killed her close friend last week by running her down with her SUV at the apartment complex where they both lived.
Anila Baby, 32, of Milpitas, was charged Tuesday with killing Anjana Hari, 35, of Milpitas, on Friday in a violent sequence that ended in her arrest. She was scheduled to be arraigned in a San Jose courtroom for one count of murder in Hari’s death.
Hari’s death was reported after Milpitas police were called to a noontime collision Friday in the parking lot of the Mill Creek Apartments at 440 Dixon Landing Road, with witnesses describing a blue Toyota Highlander SUV fleeing the scene, and hitting three parked vehicles on the way out.
A probable cause affidavit by Milpitas police detectives stated that responding officers found Hari suffering from “severe head trauma and bleeding,” and that she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Minutes later, police got a report that the SUV drove recklessly past responding patrol vehicles and abruptly pulled into a nearby Walgreens parking lot on North Milpitas Boulevard. Two detectives caught up to the vehicle and found Baby, and described her as incoherent and unable to answer questions, and showing visible injuries and blood on her arms and legs, according to the affidavit.
Baby was arrested, and the ensuing investigation developed a narrative that portrayed her as having ambushed Hari. The two were described by family members as good friends who were also neighbors at the Mill Creek complex, and witnesses told police that Hari seemed relaxed and smiling as she approached Baby’s SUV, giving one witness the impression that they were either friends or that Hari was using a rideshare.
Witnesses described how once Hari stepped in front of the vehicle, Baby abruptly accelerated from a dead stop and ran over Hari with the SUV before speeding away, pinballing with several parked cars. Another resident of the complex told police they recognized Baby as she drove out of the parking lot and that the witness had to move out of the way of the speeding SUV.
A traffic investigator later found that there were not tire friction or skid marks to indicate that Baby ever tried to brake, leading to the conclusion that the collision was intentional, the affidavit states.
Authorities have not disclosed a precise motive for their murder theory against Baby.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.