‘I wish him nothing but suffering’: Friend reacts to arrest in Nikitha Godishala murder case

Jillian Thornton said the arrest of Arjun Sharma brought no relief from the shock surrounding the death of her friend, Nikitha Godishala. “Devastating doesn’t even begin to describe the shock, the betrayal, you know, it’s been really hard to come to terms with,” Thornton said.

Godishala was found dead in an apartment in Columbia on Jan. 3. Sharma, whom Thornton knew as Godishala’s boyfriend, had filed a missing-person report and told police he last saw her on Dec. 31. He flew to India hours after making the report. Investigators later treated him as the main suspect because Godishala’s body was found in his apartment.

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Devastating doesn’t even begin to describe the shock, the betrayal, you know, it’s been really hard to come to terms with.

Eight months after the killing, Indian authorities arrested Sharma. He is expected to be extradited to the United States. A separate cheating case was registered against him in Hyderabad in April, alleging that he took money from Godishala. Police from the southern Indian city traveled to Agra after receiving information that he was there. Because a U.S. case and a non-bailable warrant were already pending, central authorities were notified and Sharma was detained.

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I wish him nothing but suffering because, God, she just was so good. She was just good in the purest sense of the word, and she was good to him.

Godishala’s family rejected the description of Sharma as her boyfriend, saying he was a roommate who had lost his job and borrowed money from her. They said the motive was financial, though local police have not substantiated that claim. The family also said they learned from media reports that her body had been placed in a suitcase. “We now respectfully ask the U.S. authorities for transparency, cooperation and answers. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for what every parent deserves when their child is killed, the truth,” the family said.

Thornton said the family had navigated two governments and two justice systems to bring about the arrest. “I wish him nothing but suffering because, God, she just was so good. She was just good in the purest sense of the word, and she was good to him.”

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We now respectfully ask the U.S. authorities for transparency, cooperation and answers. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for what every parent deserves when their child is killed, the truth.