Indians' murder: 3 suspects are history-sheeters

The three US men arrested for the brutal double murder of Indian doctoral students at Louisiana State University had a lengthy criminal record with charges including rape and kidnapping.

Michael Lewis, 19, Casey Gathers, 20, Devin Parker, 19, were arrested last week for the killing of Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam, both hailing from Andhra Pradesh. The two who were found shot in the head in a "home invasion" of Allam's apartment December 13.

All the accusued, African-Americans from Baton Rouge, will be charged with two counts of first degree murder.

Each has a criminal history, according to court records.

Lewis faces aggravated rape and second-degree kidnapping charges in an alleged 2006 attack on a 15-year-old girl, according to court documents. He also received six months of probation in 2007 on a charge of criminal damage to property.

Gathers pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge and received two years of probation earlier this year, according to Louisiana state corrections department.

He also faces pending charges of marijuana possession and firearm possession,

Parker was sentenced to three years' probation in 2006 after pleading guilty to burglary, according to court records.

The arrest warrants say Parker claimed Gathers shot both victims. Parker admitted that he, Lewis and Gathers forced the two students inside the apartment.

"Parker was able to provide details to detectives about the murders that were not released to the public," the warrants say.

Lewis and Gathers were arrested last Thursday while Parker was arrested a day earlier on an unrelated simple robbery charge.

A task force involving for four different police agencies was involved in the investigation.

Allam, 33, a chemistry student from Hyderabad, and Komma, 31, a biology student from Kurnool, were found dead by Allam's pregnant wife at the apartment complex for married and graduate students.

The university's handling of the killings drew complaints when administrators and police didn't lock down the campus or reschedule final exams, even though the killers were at large and officers had no suspects at the time.

Police patrols were increased on the 28,000-student campus, and students were urged to be cautious as they wrapped up the semester and headed home for the holiday break.