He pleaded not guilty, of course. Death penalty trial starts in September.

http://www.timesherald.com/article/2...bredirect=true

COURTHOUSE ? One after another, the charges were read against an Upper Merion man who allegedly killed a 10-month old girl and her grandmother, and one after another, his attorney affirmed he was not guilty.

The formal arraignment of Raghunandan Yandamuri commenced before Judge Steven T. O?Neill in Montgomery County Court Friday morning, marking one of the most high profile death penalty cases ever tried in recent history.

A petite, soft-spoken man, Yandamuri, 27, was brought into court in an orange prison jumpsuit and shackled at the hands and feet. He is accused of killing young Saavni Venna and her grandmother, Satyavathi Venna, during a botched kidnapping for ransom on Oct. 22, 2012 at the Marquis Apartments in King of Prussia.

O?Neill asked Yandamuri if he understood that the Commonwealth is seeking ?the most serious punishment in our crimes code,? in ?a case of this magnitude.?

In total, Yandamuri pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, robbery and abuse of a corpse.

First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele filed two notices seeking the death penalty, one for each victim.

?We?ve found there are a number of aggravating circumstances which the legislature has indicated will allow us to move forward with the death penalty,? said Steele.

?We turned over a substantial amount (of evidence). This was an intensive investigation.?

When police converged on the Marquis Apartments that day in October, it was about 1:15 p.m. when they found Satyavathi Venna lying in a pool of her own blood, her neck sliced open. Satyavathi Venna had been babysitting her granddaughter, when Yandamuri allegedly arrived at the apartment with a kitchen knife and 10 copies of a garbled ransom note.

Prosecutors say Yandamuri was desperate for money to repay a litany of gambling debts.

Ten-month old Saavni Venna was missing at the scene. State police issued an Amber Alert that lasted a week before the little girl was found in the basement of the Marquis apartment complex. Police found her lifeless body under a bench in an unused men?s locker room attached to the gymnasium. A handkerchief had been stuffed in her mouth.