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Kalpana Murali Babu, a 37-year-old Troy murder victim, will be honored at 6 p.m. Saturday with a two-mile candlelight march through the Somerset Apartments complex where she lived.
The tribute a day after her funeral is organized by a Canton association called Tamil Sangam Michigan, with participation by other Southeast Asian heritage groups in Metro Detroit. The mother, fatally stabbed in the neck Monday afternoon during a burglary, was a member of the Tamil ethnic group from India and Sri Lanka.
A 53-year-old neighbor, Charles Stephens, was arrested a night after the killing and charged with the crime. He had been staying with a Somerset tenant in Babu's building, Sgt. Meghan Lehman of the Troy Police tells John Turk of The Oakland Press.
Lehman and other Troy officers will escort the memorial march, she said, "to provide support and show the community that we are upset about this tragic incident, as well." Somerset residents are invited to join.
Annadurai Murugesan, president of the Michigan Tamil Sangam, said about 200 people are expected at the vigil. Turk quotes him as saying:
“The reason we are doing the walk is for moral support for the family who lost their beloved family member. This is a very painful and tragic incident to even think about or talk about. I’m not sure how the family is getting through this.
“We are doing this to make sure people know that if anything like this tragic event happens, the whole community is here for support. We want to stay united and make sure people feel safe and secure.”
The victim's husband, a General Motors employee on a business trip to South Korea, was notified Tuesday evening by Troy Police after difficulty locating him immediately. He rushed back for a two-hour memorial service Friday morning at A. J. Desmond & Sons in Troy and burial at White Chapel Memorial Cemetery nearby.
The couple's two children, Lipika and Sanjay, led to the crime's discovery when they returned Monday from Martell Elementary School and were not met at the bus stop. They walked home and went to a neighbor when no one answred the door to let them in.
A message from their father was posted Saturday on Facebook by the school's parent-teacher organization:
My heartfelt thanks to all teachers and parents of Martell for the sympathy and consoling words. Lipika and Sanjay had a smile on their face when they saw letters and messages from their friends, it gave them great strength.
Please convey my heartfelt thanks to all teachers and parents of Martell.
Earlier coverage:
Ex-Con Held in a Mom’s Fatal Stabbing at ‘Tranquil Environment’ of Somerset Apts., March 24
