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Left inset: Sergio Fraire (Burbank Police Department). Center inset: Meera Varma (TEDx/Meera Varma). Right inset: Arti Varma (Facebook). Background: The California home where Sergio Fraire allegedly butchered nationally recognized mental health activist Meera Varma and her mother Arti Varma, who is a public school teacher (KTLA/YouTube).
In a tragic incident in California, a mental health advocate and her schoolteacher mother were brutally attacked in their home, resulting in the mother’s death and leaving the daughter hospitalized.
Sergio Fraire, aged 30, has been charged with murder and attempted murder following the Monday morning assault. The Burbank Police Department revealed in a press release that incriminating evidence was found at a location where Fraire had been residing.
Meera Varma, the daughter who survived the attack, is a prominent mental health activist and a TEDx speaker. Her personal website highlights her collaboration with well-known figures such as President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Oprah Winfrey. At the time of the attack, Meera was at her family’s Burbank home with her mother, Arti Varma, when Fraire allegedly launched his violent assault.
Arti Varma’s husband and Meera’s father was overwhelmed with grief upon learning of the attack while he was in India. Local news outlet KABC reported that he was inconsolable after receiving the devastating news. Victor Goli, a family friend and neighbor, recounted to KABC, “He couldn’t even speak right. He was crying.”
“He couldn’t even speak right,” family friend and neighbor Victor Goli told KABC. “He was crying.”
Fraire was arrested on Monday night at the residence where he is “believed to be staying,” according to police. “He was taken into custody without incident, and evidence related to the crime was recovered,” the Burbank PD release says. “The relationship, if any, between the suspect and the victims remains under investigation, as does the motive.”
Burbank police officers and paramedics responded to the 2800 block of North Brighton Street around 6 a.m. on Monday following a report of two individuals who had been stabbed inside a residence and were identified by cops as the Varmas.
“Both victims were transported to a local hospital for treatment,” police say. “Despite lifesaving efforts, the mother, identified as 59-year-old Arti Varma, later succumbed to her injuries. Her 25-year-old daughter remains hospitalized and is currently listed in stable condition.”
A “comprehensive investigation” was conducted after the Varmas were found, which included interviewing witnesses, canvassing for evidence, and “collecting and reviewing surveillance video” that led to police identifying Fraire as a person of interest. A search warrant was executed at the residence where he was staying, which is when the “evidence related to the crime” was recovered, according to Burbank police.
Meera Varma has spoken about her close relationship with her mom in social media posts and on her website. A UCLA write-up from 2023 notes how “Varma says she’s been lucky with how supportive her immediate family” has been throughout her life when it comes to mental health.
“Her connections with the women in her life have been particularly healing, starting with her mother and grandmother,” the school said. “A lot of my resilience and strength in addressing my mental health I owe to them,” Meera Varma explained. “They have been my pillars of support.”
On Facebook, Meera Varma shared the UCLA write-up and described her mom as being one of the “most important” people in her life, along with her grandmother. “I would not be where I am today without them,” Meera Varma said.
Friends and neighbors told local CW affiliate KTLA that Arti Varma was a beloved public school teacher who enjoyed working with youths. “People loved her,” one neighbor said. “She was such a kind person.”