Attorney explains why family of missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki would want her declared dead
The parents of missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki wrote a letter to investigating authorities asking them to declare her legally deceased and noting that at this point there has been no evidence of foul play.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office says Konanki's family believed the 20-year-old drowned while on spring break in the Dominican tourist town of Punta Cana.
So what's behind the parents asking authorities to declare their daughter dead? Is it a request for closure or for legal reasons? KDKA-TV asked Pittsburgh attorney Phil DiLucente.
"I think it was very clear this is what's called a power play," DiLucente said.
DiLucente believes this is a strategic move and wouldn't be surprised if the parents' legal counsel suggested it.
"They want to make sure that all the rescue and efforts and capital and all the money that is being put into this investigation that it just be focused on who did this to my child, not where is my child, not what happened as far as there being a potential rescue. So, the parents are very strategic," he said.
Another reason to declare a missing person deceased includes processing a person's estate, but the timing depends on the missing person's home state.
"A lot of times it's for insurance purposes, a lot of times it's for estate, but as you know, she's from Virginia, that's a 7 year that has to pass before you can be declared deceased, same as Pennsylvania," DiLucente said.
That means the state of Virginia's code says 7 years need to pass before a missing person is presumed dead. It also states if a person disappears in a foreign country and the body is not found, then the Department of State can issue a report of presumptive death.
DiLucente adds a death certificate will need to say one of four things.
"Manners of death, once again: accidental, suicide, unknown, homicide. We just don't know yet," he said.
Konanki's family says they believe she drowned, but her body hasn't been found.
"While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible as we continue to review the evidence and information made available to us in the course of this investigation," the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.
