A 32-year-old woman from Kerala has been arrested in California in connection with the alleged deaths of two other women from the state, who were reportedly close friends of the suspect, according to their families and local authorities.The two women, identified as Anjana Hari, 35, from Thrissur district, and Ann Mary Mathew, 40, from Thiruvananthapuram district, died within minutes of each other on August 28 (US time).Their mutual friend, Anila, 32, from Kottayam district, was arrested by the Milpitas Police Department in San Jose, California. She is suspected of being involved in both deaths.According to their families and local officials, Anjana died after sustaining serious injuries in an alleged hit-and-run collision in Milpitas, while Ann was found dead inside her San Jose home with a single stab wound.Anjana killed in Milpitas hit-and-runThe Milpitas Police Department said officers responded on the afternoon of August 28 to a report of a hit-and-run collision in the parking lot of the Mill Creek apartments.“When officers arrived, they found a female victim who had sustained significant injuries as a result of the collision. Unfortunately, she was pronounced deceased at the scene. Officers quickly searched the surrounding area and found a blue SUV matching the description in a nearby parking lot. The driver, a 32-year-old Milpitas resident, was arrested in connection with the incident,” police said in a statement.Police said the circumstances surrounding the collision were still being investigated.Ann found stabbed at San Jose homeThe San Jose Police Department said a woman, identified by her family as Ann, was found inside her home on Linda Vista Street with a single stab wound shortly before 2 pm on August 28.Her death was classified as a homicide. Police said the victim and the suspect knew each other.The families of the two women are struggling to understand what led to the alleged killings.Rajagopal, a relative of Anjana, said the families were waiting for investigators to establish the motive.“We just cannot comprehend what may have motivated Anila to do such a thing. All three of them, Anjana, Ann and Anila, were close friends. We heard that they had celebrated Onam together and had gone for a movie too recently. Even their husbands don’t know what transpired between them,” he said.Two victims lived in US with familiesThe three women had been living in the United States with their respective husbands and children and were employed in separate professions.Anjana was a school teacher, while Ann was an engineer, their families said.Thressyama Thomas, a municipal councillor in Thiruvananthapuram who knew Ann’s family closely, said the family was devastated by her death.Ann had travelled to Kerala in June this year to attend her father’s 70th birthday, Thomas said.“The family is in complete shock. They have no clarity as to what has happened. She (Ann) was a good person and interacted well with relatives and neighbours. Her father is in deep distress,” Thomas said.Efforts underway to repatriate bodies to KeralaThrissur MP Suresh Gopi said he had spoken to India’s Consul General in San Francisco regarding the repatriation of the victims’ bodies to Kerala.“The Consul General has ordered the local funeral service to proceed with documentation for the repatriation of the bodies. But because they were murders and the police investigation is on, there could be a delay,” Gopi said.The police investigations into the two deaths are continuing, while the families await clarity on the circumstances and alleged motive behind the incident.