Inset: Avinash Narne appears in court. Background: The Washington state apartment complex where Narne lived with his wife, whom he is accused of strangling (KING/YouTube).
A Washington state Amazon software engineer is accused of strangling his wife, who police say he considered “an obstacle” to a relationship with a woman he loved in India, only months after the couple entered into an arranged marriage.
Avinash Narne, 30, of Bellevue, has been charged with murder in connection with the October 2025 death of his wife. Her name has not been released at her family’s request.
Investigators say Narne, who is originally from India, married the woman through an arranged marriage in June 2025, and the pair began living together the following month. Narne told authorities he had been out running errands when his wife was fatally strangled in a bathroom inside their home, and claimed he returned to find the bathroom door locked with her inside.
“Officers forced entry into the bathroom and located [Narne’s wife] laying prone on the bathroom floor,” according to a probable cause affidavit. “Medics removed [Narne’s wife] from the bathroom and positioned her in the living room while they attempted lifesaving procedures.”
She was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy later classified the manner of death as “homicide” and determined the cause was “asphyxia due to strangulation.” The report also noted traces of THC in her urine.
According to the affidavit, Narne attempted to explain the situation by telling police his wife had a “history of panic attacks” and had “complained about gastric issues.” He allegedly said she was “locked in the bathroom and not responding” when he returned from his errands.
Detectives, however, said the bathroom door “can be locked by turning the knob and closing the door,” which suggested that “the killer could have struck in the bathroom or moved [Narne’s wife] into it after the act and locked the bathroom door behind them, leaving her body locked alone inside,” the affidavit states.
Detectives interviewed Narne about his wife’s death and asked him to detail the events leading up to the discovery of her body in the bathroom on Oct. 27, 2025.
“Avinash advised that he went to work at Amazon in the morning,” the affidavit says. “While at work he received a call from [his wife] and her family members that [his wife] was not feeling well. Avinash left work and returned home.”
Narne claimed his wife was having gastric issues, so he went back out to get medicine for her. According to Narne, the woman was sitting in the living room when he left.
Police asked Narne if either he or his wife had engaged in extramarital affairs or used recreational drugs, according to the affidavit. He allegedly stated, “Not that I’m aware of” and “I don’t think so” when asked if his wife ever used marijuana or consumed edibles.
At one point, a detective asked Narne if he had killed his wife. “Avinash laughed and said, ‘Uh, no officer,'” according to the affidavit.
A search of Narne’s cellular devices, Google accounts, WhatsApp accounts and Instagram accounts allegedly showed that Narne “had a secret romantic relationship with another woman” in India, according to the affidavit.
“Avinash appeared to have initiated an engagement with [the other woman] and provided her with what appeared to be an engagement ring in late 2024,” the affidavit explains. “Despite her parents refusing the engagement, Avinash and [the other woman] continued to have daily contact via WhatsApp calls and texts and were sexually intimate in January 2025 based on timestamped images.”
Even after his marriage to his wife, Narne allegedly communicated regularly with the other woman and began “proclaiming his love to her” and “wishes to be together.” Police say that he even invited the other woman to his wedding in June 2025 and she attended it as a guest, unbeknownst to his wife.
“The content of their WhatsApp messages was mostly romantic in nature and directly incongruous with what Avinash shared during our initial interview when he denied having an affair,” the affidavit says.
Additionally, detectives allegedly discovered that Narne had spoken to the other woman “multiple times” on the day his wife was found dead, including audio and video calls lasting 24 and 51 minutes, respectively. One of the calls came when Narne claimed he was “looking for a way to enter the locked bathroom,” according to the affidavit.
“Of note, Avinash did not disclose any of these calls during the initial interview [with police],” the affidavit says. “This appeared intentionally omitted.”
Narne allegedly continued to contact the other woman the day following his wife’s death through WhatsApp messages. “In these messages, [the other woman] referenced a dream Avinash had previously shared and stated, ‘This happened in your dream,'” according to the affidavit. “Additionally, Avinash appeared to have sent a message to [the other woman] which he then deleted. [The other woman] responded to the deleted message with what looks like a ‘staring eyes’ emoji.”
Detectives asked Narne about the deleted message and he “spontaneously referenced” a deleted picture of his wife’s body, according to the affidavit. Despite multiple follow-up questions, Narne could not answer why he allegedly mentioned the deleted picture of his wife’s body.
While investigating the circumstances surrounding the THC in his wife’s system, police say they found messages between her and Narne in which the woman mentioned her drinks having a “bitter taste” in the months and weeks leading up to her death.
A review of the messages showed that Narne allegedly prepared the drinks for her, including coconut water and smoothies. Narne’s wife indicated that the drinks had a “medicine taste” and “cough syrup taste,” according to the affidavit.
When asked about these messages, Narne allegedly changed his story about his wife’s marijuana use and described giving her marijuana “to help her sleep.” Messages from the day of his wife’s death suggested she was feeling unwell and that a smoothie Narne made for her “tasted off,” per the affidavit.
“Avinash had motive to kill his wife, whom he likely saw as an obstacle to being with [the other woman], a woman he appeared from messages to be in love with and whom he communicated with close in time to [his wife’s] death,” the affidavit concludes.
Narne was arrested on Friday and charged with first-degree murder. He was arraigned Tuesday and is being held on $5 million bail in the King County Jail.
