Accused found guilty in murder of partner
KELOWNA A Surrey property manager intended to kill his romantic partner or at least knew his violent actions could lead to her death, a judge ruled Thursday as she found Tejwant Danjou guilty of second-degree murder.
Danjou killed Rama Gauravarapu at the Best Western Plus hotel in West Kelowna on July 22, 2018. Justice Allison Beames delivered the guilty verdict after giving a 100-minute summation in the secure Kelowna courtroom previously used to try the accused killers of gangster Jonathan Bacon
In her judgment, Beames said there was no doubt Danjou killed Gauravarapu; the only thing for her to decide in the non-jury trial was whether he was guilty of manslaughter or second-degree murder.
“The difference between murder and manslaughter is intent,” she explained.
The cause of Gauravarapu’s death was listed as blunt force trauma, but she had 52 areas of injury, the judge said. Gauravarapu suffered injuries to her face, had defensive wounds on her arms and hands, and had an eight-inch cut to her neck in what one doctor described as signs of a “frenzied attack.”
The couple had a rocky threeyear relationship with several previous accounts of violence committed by Danjou against her.
Danjou was described as a jealous partner who accused Gauravarapu of having affairs. A doctor for the defence said he had “delusional disorder jealousy type,” among other mental issues, which included a drinking problem.
On the day of the murder, the couple spent many hours at Mission Creek winery, which ended in arguments and Danjou getting a separate room back at the hotel. Later, they were in the same room when staff received noise complaints, particularly from the people in the room below.
A staff member who went to check noticed blood on Danjou’s clothes and Gauravarapu on the floor with a swollen face. Police were called.
The defence said he was intoxicated, but “I am satisfied Mr. Danjou was not intoxicated or impaired to the degree that it affected his ability to understand and foresee the consequences of his assault on Miss Gauravarapu.”
Sentencing for Danjou was set for Sept. 14.