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Indian-origin brothers in US get death sentence
Two brothers of Indian origin have been sentenced to death for multiple murders of a business family.
In a rare judicial instance, two brothers of Indian origin in the United States have been sentenced to death for multiple murders of a business family.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury recommended death for 35-year-old Pravin Govin, a Cypress businessman who was convicted of killing four family members in the Hollywood Hills three years ago, the district attorney's office announced. His brother Veerendra 'Victor' Govin, 37, was sentenced to death of the same crime last year.
"The jury deliberated about a day and a half before recommending that Pravin Govin of Cypress receive the death penalty for the May 4, 2002, murders of the wife, children and mother-in-law of a business rival. The defendant, wearing a navy blue suit, showed no emotion when the jury's recommendation was read," the attorney's office said. The murders in question involve Gita Kumar, 42, her son Paras Kumar, 18, daughter Tulsi Kumar, 16 and mother-in-law Sitaben Patel, 63.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office told IANS that she did not know of any other case where two brothers of Indian origin were sentenced to death and that too for the same crime.
Trial Judge Kathleen Kennedy-Powell scheduled formal sentencing for June 13. Defense lawyers are expected to argue for a new trial and ask that the judge not impose the death penalty.
If the judge upholds the jury recommendation, Pravin Govin will join his brother on California's death row. The brothers were tried last year.
While Veerendra Govin was convicted and sentenced to death just before Christmas 2004, the jury deadlocked on Pravin Govin's case. His retrial began in February this year.
A third defendant, 28-year-old Carlos M. Amador of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree murder in 2003 and testified against the Govin brothers. He is scheduled to be sentenced to four concurrent 15-year-to-life prison terms.
According to the prosecution the family perished in the arson fire at their home in the Hollywood Hills. Harish Kumar, Gita's husband, then 47, was not at home when the fire was set. He arrived a short time later and called 911 when he could not get inside to his family.
The Kumar family owned a motel in Studio City that was next to a motel owned by the Govin family. The killings were over a business dispute.
Former deputy district Attorney Eleanor Hunter, who prosecuted the case, was named a Los Angeles Superior Court judge as Pravin Govin's retrial was getting under way. She delayed taking her seat on the bench until she had completed the prosecution.
The Govins and Amador have been held without bail since their arrests in 2002.
