Why would a 78-year-old retired teacher from Tirupati, India, living with his daughter and her husband in Lincoln, capital of Nebraska, murder his 46-year-old son-in-law?
The question evidently had puzzled many since the August 5, 2014 alleged murder of Sujay Nooka, an engineer, by Bayapa Lingala, the father-in-law who has been at county jail in Lincoln.
He was charged with second degree murder, and his bond was set at $1 million. Lingala faced at least 70 years in jail, if he were to be convicted.
But that possibility of jail term arose more than two years ago when police came to his daughter’s house at night and arrested him. The kitchen knife he used to kill Sujay Nooka was also found as was the septuagenarian who was present at the house when police went.
It was the day when the family had celebrated one of Lingala’s grandchildren’s birthday.
His daughter Uma, a medical doctor admitted to police that Lingala, who suffered from depression, had indeed stabbed Sujay, who with two stab wounds on his chest, died in hospital.
But last month a judge dismissed the second-degree murder charge against Lingala, saying he is mentally incompetent to stand trial and that he is not expected, according to doctors, to be restored to competency. The judge ruled that in instead of jail, Lingala be admitted to the state psychiatric hospital in Lincoln.
The ruling corroborated what his daughter had told the prosecution earlier that her father suffered from bipolar disease, also known as manic depression – a condition when a person can be excessively manic or excited and energized, but can also have periods of deep depression on which they have no control.
According to Lancaster County court, Dr. Uma Nooka had prescribed medication to treat her father’s disorder.
Apparently, Lingala suffered from depression because of being away from India for almost a decade. Dr. Uma, according to news reports, told police that Lingala had wanted to return to India and that she had opposed it as he could not take care of himself at his age.
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