NJ Man Said Wife Was Just Napping But Prosecutors Claim It Was More Permanent

A 40-year-old man from South Jersey called police after killing his wife, but when they found her body at the scene, he said she was taking a nap, authorities said.

Babu Natarajan
Photo Credit: *Burlington County Prosecutor's Office*

Jon Craig

03/30/2023 2:49 p.m.

Babu Natarajan is believed to have strangled Angammal Babu, 41, in their Medford Township home on Tuesday, March 21, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw alongside Medford Township Police Chief Arthur E. Waterman said.

Natarajan called 911, and officers responding to reports of an unconscious and unresponsive woman found the woman's body on the bed in the upstairs master bedroom, authorities said.

That's when Natarajan told police his wife had taken a nap "because she was tired," the prosecutor said.

An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood concluded that the manner of death was homicide, and the cause of death was due to compression of the victim’s neck, Bradshaw said.

Natarajan was taken into custody on Wednesday, March 29 at his Regent Court home and was being held in Burlington County Jail. He faces a charge of first-degree murder.

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