Indian American Identified as First Homicide Victim of Year in Cary, North Carolina

CARY, NC-The Cary (North Carolina) Police Department Aug. 28 identified 55-year-old

as the man found dead in the city’s first homicide of the year.

The Indian American was found dead in the 100-block of Connemara Drive on Aug. 27. The investigation into his death is ongoing, according to reports.

No charges have been filed as Cary Police work around the clock to identify suspects and investigate leads.

At approximately 4:05 p.m. on Aug. 27, Cary Police responded to a report of shots fired in the Somerset community in western Cary.

Upon their arrival, officers discovered a man with gunshot wounds in the vicinity of the community pool on Connemara Drive. Preliminary autopsy results released Aug. 28 confirmed the identity of the victim as Vellingiri, originally from Coimbatore.

Vellingiri (known to friends and family, simply as Selva) started off on his favorite activity of speed walking on the afternoon of Aug. 27.

No one who met Vellingiri can forget his quiet disposition. Behind that silent demeanor was a kind soul, who never refused anyone help and empathized with the lot of strangers and acquaintances alike, his obituary read.

An engineer and an MBA graduate from India, Vellingiri came to the state as a business consultant in 1999. After establishing financial independence and a tedious wait, he married the love of his life, Kalaiselvi Sulur, in 2004.

Bound by their shared passion for Tamil, their native language, both of them engaged robustly with the activities of the Tamil Sangam, earning Vellingiri many friends in Michigan, Florida, and in Cary, N.C., the obituary added.

Vellingiri even served on the Board of Directors of the Cary Tamil Sangam. He was also a staunch follower of the Isha Foundation, which is dedicated to raising human consciousness through individual transformation. Members of both communities will miss his gracious nature, it said.

​Above all, Vellingiri was a doting husband and an indulgent father to his only daughter, Anandhi. She affectionately recalls many hours of playing “Barbie,” and “pushcart” with him, the obituary added.