'Relaxed and Smiling' California Woman Allegedly Runs Over Friend With SUV, Faces Murder Charge

A California woman is facing a murder charge after allegedly running over her friend with an SUV inside their Milpitas apartment complex car park on 28 August, according to police and court records.

The case centres on 32-year-old Anila Baby, whom prosecutors accuse of using her blue SUV to strike the victim at the Mill Creek Apartments on Dixon Landing Road in Silicon Valley.

The victim, 35-year-old mother-of-one Anjana Hari, was pronounced dead at the scene from her injuries. Witnesses told officers that Hari had approached the SUV appearing 'relaxed and smiling' moments before she was struck, according to documents filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

The alleged murder has shaken the tight-knit community of residents and Indian expatriates in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Allegations of Intentional Attack Emerge in Milpitas Murder Case

The criminal complaint filed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office charges Baby with one count of murder, backed by aggravating allegations that the killing involved great violence, use of a weapon and planning.

Investigators say a witness saw the SUV stopped in the car park as Hari walked towards the front of the vehicle. When she moved directly in front of it, the same witness reported that the SUV 'suddenly accelerated' and hit her head-on.

The car then continued forward, striking and running over the victim before smashing into three parked vehicles and leaving the complex without stopping, court records state.

A traffic officer later examined the scene and highlighted a detail prosecutors are now leaning on. According to the documents, the officer found no tyre marks indicating any attempt to brake before impact.

For investigators trying to draw a line between tragic error and intent, that absence has become a key piece of the puzzle. In their filings, they say it supports their belief that this was not panic or loss of control, but a deliberate act.

Detectives tracked the damaged blue SUV to a Walgreens car park less than a mile from the apartment complex. Milpitas police say they found Baby inside the SUV, which had heavy front-end damage consistent with the crash scene.

Court papers state that she appeared 'incoherent', with visible injuries and blood on her arms and legs, and was unable to answer basic questions when officers tried to speak to her. The documents do not spell out whether police believe those injuries came from the collision itself or from something that happened immediately before or after.

Friends and family later told investigators the two women were friends, not strangers, which has only deepened the unease around the case. The witness statements described Hari appearing relaxed and friendly as she walked towards the SUV, and neighbours did not report hearing any obvious argument in the moments before the collision.

Community Reels as Murder Case Moves Through Court

The murder allegation, with its aggravating factors, means prosecutors will eventually have to convince a jury that Baby acted with intent and planning, not in a sudden flash of carelessness or confusion.

In the filing, they explicitly accuse her of using the vehicle as a deadly weapon and of carrying out the killing with 'planning and sophistication'.

Milpitas police have kept a visible presence at the Mill Creek Apartments in the days since the incident.

Residents told local broadcasters it has been hard to process the fact that what looked like a routine weekday lunchtime in the car park now sits at the centre of a homicide file. Some neighbours spoke only off camera, which is hardly surprising given the close-knit nature of the community and the horror of what they saw and heard.

Hari's story does not end with the police tape. The 35-year-old moved to the United States in 2021, according to Indian media reports, building a life in California with her husband, Vijesh, and their six-year-old daughter.

Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help support the family after her death.

Authorities have urged anyone with further information about the collision or the events leading up to it to contact the Milpitas Police Department, with options for anonymous tips.

The investigation remains open, and the full picture of what drove the incident, emotionally and practically, is still being assembled piece by painstaking piece.

For now, the only uncontested fact is the bleakest one, that a woman who walked towards a car 'relaxed and smiling' never walked away again.

Court records show that Baby is next due to appear in court on 10 September, where the murder charge and the aggravating allegations will begin their slow passage through the legal system.