Police seized security system from Cary home where woman found dead

The body of Nalini Tellaprolu, 51, was found in the garage of her home, at 2107 Roland Glen Road, on Dec. 17 by her teenage son and another person, police said.

An autopsy report stated that Tellaprolu was on the garage floor with her feet in the backseat of a car. A brown, plastic grocery bag was over her head and was knotted behind her neck, and she had been strangled.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Since Tellaprolu's murder, people in the Cary neighborhood say everything has changed.

"It was a peaceful neighborhood to chaos, crime scene investigators, the sadness of losing a great lady, and the grief, then the fear," said Johanne Lacasse, who lives nearby.

Police searched the home on Dec. 22, but the search warrants were sealed at the request of investigators.

Tellaprolu's son told police that he last saw his mother at dinner on Dec. 16. He went up to his room to work on homework, went to bed, got up and went to school the next day without seeing her, according to an affidavit police submitted to obtain the search warrant.

Tellaprolu's husband was on a business trip and couldn't reach her by phone, so he told his son to check on her when he got home from school, the affidavit states.

Tellaprolu was "adamant" about turning on the security system every night before she went to bed, but it wasn't activated the night of Dec. 16, according to the affidavit. There was no signed of forced entry to the home.

"That's once piece of the puzzle, but I think when justice is done, we will all feel better," Lacasse said.

Police searched the home and Tellaprolu's Honda Civic and seized dozens of items, including electronics, a blanket, plastic gloves, fingerprints and DNA samples.

"I'm confident that the Cary Police Department will solve this crime, but it's taking a bit longer than we had hoped of course," Lacasse said.

No arrests have been made.