Police: Mother remembers daughter chasing, stabbing her

MORRISVILLE, N.C. — A woman whose daughter stabbed her more than a dozen times Sunday told police she has specific memories of the ordeal.

Rajalakshni Cannipuphur, 58, said she remembers her daughter, Aishnakya Santhanakrishnan, 28, chasing and stabbing her as she tried to get out of her daughter’s condo, officers reported.

“(She) said that her daughter was calling her by a name that she did not recognize,” Morrisville Police Chief Ira Jones said.

The fight moved outside the Preston Creekside condominium complex, off Morrisville-Carpenter Road.

“She was trying to get away from her daughter as her daughter repeatedly stabbed her,” Jones said.

Cannipuphur also said she remembered seeing a police officer and calling for help.

When officers arrived, they told Santhanakrishnan to drop the knife and shot her when she refused. She died after being taken to WakeMed.

Cannipuphur was listed in good condition Monday.

Witnesses said Sunday that the daughter screamed, "I can't take it anymore" as she stabbed her mother.

Police arrived shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday.

“(An officer) gave a verbal command, 'drop the knife, drop the knife.' She did not. She continued to slash and stab her mother and the officer in turn fired his weapon,” Jones said.

Cannipuphur suffered 15 to 18 lacerations on her back and chest, police said. She told police she doesn’t know what caused the attack.

“Nobody gets into this business to kill anybody. That's something that we hope we never do ... never have to draw weapons. However, that's part of the job,” Jones said.

The daughter worked at Duke University for several years, but had recently tranferred to a new position. Santhanakrishnan’s husband told police the job was hard for his wife.

“It was a new job for her and she was under stress,” Jones said.

Santhanakrishnan’s parents were visiting from India.

Police said Santhanakrishnan and her husband lived at the condominium. The incident occurred after Santhanakrishnan’s husband and father went to the grocery store, leaving the two women alone. When the men left, Santhanakrishnan was taking a nap and her mother was resting in the living room.

Family members told police Santhanakrishnan had no history of mental illness.

The officer who shot the daughter is on paid administrative leave as the State Bureau of Investigation reviews the incident.