Gambling Drove Montco Man To Robbery, Kidnap, Then Murder, Prosecutor Hints
By Brad Segall
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Prosecutors were laying the groundwork today for a possible motive in the trial of an Upper Merion man accused of murdering a ten-month-old infant and her grandmother in their King of Prussia apartment nearly two years ago.
The prosecution contends that defendant Raghu Yandamuri committed the murders during a kidnapping attempt gone bad. His plan, they say, was to hold the infant for ransom because he needed money for his gambling habit.
On the witness stand today, the vice president of gaming operations for the Valley Forge Casino testified they could track the 28-year-old man's gambling habits through his player's card.
"There was identification that was used that indicated that he was at the casino at least thirty times in the months preceding the murder," prosecutor Kevin Steele notes.
There was also testimony from two of Yandamuri's friends who told the jury he borrowed money from them, in one case to repay some gambling debts from casinos in Las Vegas.
Yandamuri, acting as his own attorney, says police made him a scapegoat for the murders.
Testimony resumes Tuesday.