Background: News footage of the scene in Chicago, Ill. when the body of Vasudeva Kethireddy was found in 2018 (WLS). Inset (top): Elijah Green (Cook County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (bottom left): Tony Green (Cook County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (bottom right): Vasudeva Kethireddy (provided by family).
Years after the body of an Illinois landlord was found in a sewer, the men responsible for his murder were sentenced.
Vasudeva Kethireddy, 76, went missing in August 2018 after two brothers who lived in one of his Chicago apartments — Elijah Green, 31, and Tony Green, 28 — lured him to their home with the intention of robbing him. In addition to taking his cash and credit cards, Elijah Green strangled him. Kethireddy’s body was found in September 2018, dumped in a sewer. The brothers were arrested in October 2018 and convicted of the murder in August 2024.
On Feb. 19, Elijah Green was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Tony Green was sentenced to 47 years in prison.
According to prosecutors, the two brothers reportedly owed Kethireddy rent money. On Aug. 4, 2018, they lured the older man to their apartment, claiming to have a leak. When Kethireddy entered the apartment, Elijah Green put him in a stranglehold from behind and choked him to death.
After robbing Kethireddy of $1,600 and his credit cards, the brothers carried their landlord’s body out of the building and into their car. They left the body in the car for a full day before deciding to dump it in a sewer near their apartment. They used Kethireddy’s credit cards after killing him.
Prosecutors said that one witness overheard the brothers planning the murder. Another witness also said they used Tony Green’s cellphone to search “how long it takes a body to decompose in sewer water.”
Kethireddy’s family told several news outlets that the father and grandfather came to the United States from India more than 40 years ago and took pride in providing homes for his tenants.
