In the pursuit of a better life, Akshaya Nandam, a 26-year-old man from Hyderabad, India, had moved to the United States just four years before his life was tragically cut short. A bright and promising Mechanical Design Engineer, he had earned a bachelor's degree from Malla Reddy Engineering College in his home country before moving to the U.S. in 2005 to complete his master's degree.
He found work with Satyam Computer Services and was assigned to a project for a client, Falcon Jet Airways, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Akshaya was the son of Nandam Lakshamana Murthy, a general manager at BSNL in India, and had spoken to his family to wish them for the Sankranti festival shortly before he was killed.
On the night of January 13, 2009, just after 1 a.m., Akshaya had returned to his apartment at 1710 Michael Drive after saying goodnight to his girlfriend. As he was outside, he was confronted by an armed man who demanded his wallet. Akshaya complied, offering no resistance. Despite this, the assailant fired his.380-caliber handgun, striking Akshaya in the leg. The single bullet ruptured a major artery. He was rushed to the Baptist Medical Centre, but the blood loss was too severe. Despite the doctors' best efforts, Akshaya died the following day, January 14, 2009.
The senseless murder was part of a violent, months-long crime spree that had terrorized Little Rock. Between September 2008 and January 2009, one man, Brandon Dewayne Johnson, embarked on a series of armed robberies that left three people dead and eight others wounded. Johnson, who was on probation for misdemeanor charges, primarily targeted individuals he believed to be Hispanic, mistakenly thinking they carried large sums of cash. Akshaya Nandam was one of his victims, as was 24-year-old Eric German, whom Johnson killed just hours after shooting Akshaya. Another victim was Joseph Bittengle, a 50-year-old university professor, who was murdered in December 2008.
The investigation moved quickly. A crucial piece of evidence came when Johnson used Akshaya's credit card at a McDonald's after the murder. Two days after the shooting, on January 15, 2009, police arrested 20-year-old Brandon Dewayne Johnson. His girlfriend, Victoria McCoy, was also taken into custody and charged for using the stolen credit card. The arrest brought an end to the string of violent attacks that had plagued the city.
Prosecutors initially charged Johnson with three counts of capital murder and announced their intention to seek the death penalty, calling him a "cold blooded killer and a danger to society." However, the legal proceedings took a different turn after Johnson's attorneys raised questions about his mental fitness. Following evaluations, Johnson was found to be mentally disabled, making him ineligible for the death penalty.
In a plea deal reached on July 8, 2010, Brandon Dewayne Johnson pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Akshaya Nandam, Eric German, and Joseph Bittengle. He also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of first-degree battery, aggravated robbery, robbery, and theft of property. Johnson was sentenced to 100 years in prison with the possibility of parole, for which he will first become eligible after serving at least 55 and a half years.
For Akshaya's family, the loss was immeasurable. His father, in shock, told reporters in Hyderabad about the last call from his son and voiced his doubts about the motive. "Had he had money on him, he would have given it to the miscreants," he said. The family, devastated by the news, made arrangements for Akshaya's body to be returned to India, with his employer, Satyam Computers, covering the costs. A life full of promise, sought in a new land, had been extinguished in a moment of brutal, random violence.
