Investigators Narrow Focus In The Geetha Angara Murder Case

Investigators said Friday that they are focusing on a group of six to eight male co-workers in their narrowing search for the killer of Geetha Angara, a New Jersey water-treatment-plant chemist.

Professional envy or a workplace grudge may have sparked an argument that authorities surmise preceded Angara's drowning last month in an underground storage tank in Totowa, Passaic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Latoracca said.

“Angara’s killer was likely someone she had fairly regular contact with in and around the Passaic Valley Water Commission lab where she was senior chemist, Latoracca said. Authorities said she worked with three other chemists and four lab technicians.

Latoracca said that of the small group of professionals under scrutiny, "there are two people in particular that need to be ruled out as suspects or not, based on the statements they provide. Either they're good guys or they're bad guys."

Angara's promotion to senior chemist last year came just before completion of a $70 million upgrade of the plant's purification system, which is now ozone-based. In an interview this week, an acquaintance recalled the Holmdel woman's thrilled expression during a rededication tour - in contrast with several downcast faces.

"It struck me that she was in such a fabulous mood and the other people around her weren't," the acquaintance said, requesting anonymity

Whoever forced the 5-foot-5, 175-pound Angara into the deep tank would have had to lift a 50-pound aluminum covering from a 4-foot-wide opening - possibly during a struggle. Authorities say that is in part why they suspect a male co-worker.

More of the report here.