Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 1 (IANS) The bodies of the two Kerala women killed in Milpitas, California, are likely to be released after the autopsy formalities are completed on Thursday, Union Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi said, as efforts to bring the mortal remains home entered the final stages.

Minister Gopi told IANS that the coroner’s office had conveyed to the priest Thomas Kora and the families of the deceased that the autopsy was expected to be completed by Thursday, following which the bodies would be released.

The bodies will then be handed over to registered funeral homes, which are expected to take another one or two days to complete their procedures.

“Once that is done, the Consulate will complete the paperwork,” Gopi said, adding that he was maintaining regular contact with the Consul General of India in the US to ensure the bodies were brought back to Kerala at the earliest.

The Union Minister had earlier said the bodies would be handed over to funeral homes after the autopsy and that the families would have to communicate the destination to which the remains were to be transported.

Gopi and Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan have also spoken to the relatives of the two women in Kerala and are monitoring the developments.

Thrissur native Anjana, 35, and Ann Mary Mathew, 40, a native of Kesavadasapuram in Thiruvananthapuram, were killed in Milpitas on August 28.

Anjana was reportedly run over by a blue SUV in the parking area of the Mill Creek apartment complex, while Ann Mary was found stabbed to death inside an apartment.

Anila, 32, a native of Moonnilavu in Kottayam and a friend of the two women, has been taken into custody by Milpitas police in connection with the killings.

The motive has not yet been established.

The three women were reportedly close friends and lived in the same apartment complex with their families.

The killings have sent shockwaves through the Malayali community in the US, particularly as the families had celebrated Onam together and watched a movie just a day before the tragedy.

Anjana, a school teacher, is survived by her husband Vijeesh, a software engineer, and their six-year-old daughter.

Ann Mary, who worked as a computer teacher, was the wife of Jacob, a native of Chingavanam, and the couple has two daughters.

The immediate priority is now the release of the bodies and completion of the consular formalities for their repatriation to Kerala.

–IANS

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