DR, Sudiksha Konanki, 20, Punta Cana, 6 March 2025

[swanniee11]

First I want to say that I've been fighting the flu this week, it's been a bear. With that being said I've tried to keep up as best I can with this sad case. I have nothing really to offer however I have not read anything that IMO makes me think he did something wrong to the point of actually causing her death? Bad choices on both parties? YES! I have yet to read where there was something that would justify actually naming him to the public though. This has shocked me since I read his name. Were they intoxicated? YES, could explain his different stories, things may have become more clear as time went. IDK. I have followed cases where LE wouldn't name someone when we all knew darn well so for his name to be made public by LE/MSM actually suprised me. This is just MO and before you come down on me..... FLU/FEVER! Thanks

 

[Ssschu]

Josh has a steady gf per this article. Yet here he was hooking up with a stranger during spring break and then not trying to save her when he saw she was in danger of drowning. <modsnip - rumor> And finally, not reporting her missing or raising the alarm when he didn’t find her after he woke up from his drunken stupor. I think that tells us a lot about his character.

Josh Riibe's distraught family say last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive 'wouldn't hurt a fly' - NewsBreak

The family of 24-year-old Josh Riibe, questioned by police as he was the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive at a Punta Cana resort, insists it's not

www.newsbreak.com

His family insists he "wouldn't hurt a fly" but it doesn't seem like he'd save one either. MOO

 

[Mert]

The way some of the major news shows are framing the story and referring to him is making me very uncomfortable. It seems intentional to make the story juicy and is likely to damage his reputation and life.
I will be glad to eat my words if it turns out there is involvement, but much of this seems very reckless.
*My opinions.

 

[swanniee11]

The way some of the major news shows are framing the story and referring to him is making me very uncomfortable. It seems intentional to make the story juicy and is likely to damage his reputation and life.
I will be glad to eat my words if it turns out there is involvement, but much of this seems very reckless.
*My opinions.

I agree. LE usually keeps things close to the vest and here it's like someone else is running the narrative. IMO

 

[armchairagatha]

This makes me sad to say, but from looking at the videos, she looked unsteady on her feet. I don't know what happened, but I do wish that tourists, especially women going on vacation would have a pact to have a "wingman" to make sure you are okay. Always have a buddy with you. Especially when alcohol is involved. This should not have happened. My heart breaks for this family.

She did have a buddy/wingman with her. Josh. At least she thought he was her buddy and would keep her safe.

 

[bluestsocks]

The way some of the major news shows are framing the story and referring to him is making me very uncomfortable. It seems intentional to make the story juicy and is likely to damage his reputation and life.
I will be glad to eat my words if it turns out there is involvement, but much of this seems very reckless.
*My opinions.

I agree and the media running absolutely wild with it, and now it’s spread to social media making increasingly worrisome comments and threats toward him (obviously not here, but elsewhere). This is why I’m uncomfortable with London County declaring him publicly a POI from an entirely different country. Even if everyone ultimately decides she was drunk and drowned, it won’t change the narrative out there and there will be conspiracy theories that follow him on the internet forever.

 

[whitelilac]

The way some of the major news shows are framing the story and referring to him is making me very uncomfortable. It seems intentional to make the story juicy and is likely to damage his reputation and life.
I will be glad to eat my words if it turns out there is involvement, but much of this seems very reckless.
*My opinions.

I'm with you here. I am reading articles in the last day that seem to emphasize these 3 versions of the story and the fellow being a POI, (read therefore this guy must have harmed her or callously abandoned her in the surf) but they do not detail the circumstances that we've learned about subsequent to Sudiksha's disappearance.
Initially I myself had suspicions but those changed once more details came out.
It's upsetting to me that people are jumping to conclusions without being mindful of alternative very valid, though horribly unfortunate, circumstances surrounding this tragic event.

 

[nightowl2728]

I think what is probably key is understanding what he did those early morning hours (corroboration of someone seeing him sleeping on the beach?, asking the front desk about her/looking for her friends?) and that information is clearly not being released to the public. There's a lot we don't know.

 

[nightowl2728]

We don't know if he was "hooking up" with this girl, nor if he had any clue that she could be in serious trouble in the water, nor the circumstance of him not alerting people.
<modsnip- quoted post was removed>

True but *IF* he has a girlfriend (per his uncle in that article), I doubt he would have had his arm around her the way he did and stayed out on the beach alone with her if his girlfriend was there... seems like sh*tty behavior IMO

 

[Cryptic]

Given how drunk he seemed on the video (and still holding yet another drink), I wouldn't hold out much hope for him remembering anything with that kind of detail. At a certain point, alcohol prevents info from getting into short-term memory, let alone long-term.

I totally agree that one can drink to the point where one blacks out and cannot remember anything. Yet, purely and totally subjective vibes are calling out to me in small voices:

- Person of interest is physically large. He is not obese. Rather, he is muscular and appears to be a former athlete and current "gym guy".

- He was a participant in Spring Break festivities.

The subjective voices tell me that this is not his "first rodeo" with alcohol. He does not resemble my former client- Moslem who actually used his prayer mat, nor does he resemble my wife's olde school Baptist friend with a life long affiliation with Southern Baptist Convention activities.

Rather, he resembles my large, athletic and "rodeoing" (partying) college friends. Believe me, it took an awful, awful lot of alcohol to get these guys into an alcohol induced black out stage. But, it could be done.

In the end, I would need to see a lot of evidence before I bought his "Blacked out, nothing more to say" claim. Say, concrete evidence of large and constant alcohol consumption- probably supplemented by something more than the likely watered down resort drinks. I would also need to see a real time line of when he started drinking.

 

[nightowl2728]

I totally agree that one can drink to the point where one blacks out and cannot remember anything. Yet, purely and totally subjective vibes are calling out to me in small voices:

- Person of interest is physically large. He is not obese. Rather, he is muscular and appears to be a former athlete and current "gym guy".

- He was a participant in Spring Break festivities.

The subjective voices tell me that this is not his "first rodeo" with alcohol. He does not resemble my former Muslim client with a well used prayer rug, nor does he vibe like my wife's friend of life long affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention.

Rather, he resembles my large, athletic and "rodeoing" (partying) college friends. Believe me, it took an awful, awful lot of alcohol to get these guys into an alcohol induced black out stage. But, it could be done.

In the end, I would need to see a lot of evidence before I bought his " Aw shucks, blacked out, nothing more to say" claim. Say, concrete evidence of large and constant alcohol consumption- probably supplemented by something more than the likely watered down resort drinks. I would also need to see a real time line of when he started drinking.

I think this is an important point in the side issue here of victim blaming... you're likely right, this isn't the first time this man (not boy) has gotten this drunk. If he blacks out with women (especially ones who are not his partner) or loses control or "doesn't know" what he's doing when he's with them, he should drink to that point. That's it. I've seen probably fifteen posts talking about "girl code" and being responsible, but frankly he is the one that is overwhelmingly irresponsible and reckless if his drunkenness leads to assault, etc.

 

[realanastasia]

Despite all her bravado she came from a sheltered Indian American family. Very possible that she only wanted to make out on the beach with him and not go all the way. He definitely wanted more and thought he was getting more. I can easily see a scenario where he pushed her into the water in a drunken rage after she rebuked his advances for s*x. Maybe he realized the horror of what he did too late and passed out on the beach. Hope I am wrong. JMO.
Edit: I am Indian American myself and know the culture very well. So not making racial assumptions here.

Source for info about Sudiksha’s family life? Surely we can’t assume she is sheltered just because she is of South Asian descent.

 

[Cryptic]

Source for info about Sudiksha’s family life? Surely we can’t assume she is sheltered just because she is of South Asian descent.

I don't look at the posts suggesting a sheltered life as assuming per se. Rather, I view them as more like say..... "knowing the culture and presenting an informed theory".

As for descent, she is not truly of South Asian descent in the same way that a third- fourth generation Sikh from Modesto, California would be.

Rather, the missing girl is not US born. She was born in India and is an Indian citizen. She, however, has a US residency visa.

Being born in India does not automatically mean "sheltered". But... it probably boosts up the statistical odds that she was, in fact, sheltered.

 

[truthfinder2019]

Julia (the director of media relations with the Loudoun County, Va). said he cannot share what Riibe has divulged to authorities, but that there have been inconsistencies among the stories shared by interviewees, including Konanki's travel companions. They have not been publicly named, but one of them is being investigated, the Dominican national police saidSunday.

A challenge authorities are facing is that many who could be helpful to the investigation are U.S. tourists and have returned home since the disappearance, according to Julia. However, Riibe and Konanki's friends are still being detained

Konanki's parents, who have two other children in high school, returned from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. on Wednesday

There has been considerable public speculation about what may have happened ….We caution anyone from drawing any unsubstantiated conclusions

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-5325265/sudiksha-konanki-missing-dominican-republic

ETA: I believe the above in bold to be a wrong translation from the original report in spanish, which mentions only the young man being investigated, not one of the girl friends travelling with her. The above report rightly or wrongly gives the impression police is also looking into one of the girls. JMO
As it can be misleading, I prefer to mention it

 

[Knox]

Josh has a steady gf per this article. Yet here he was hooking up with a stranger during spring break and then not trying to save her when he saw she was in danger of drowning. <modsnip- rumor>. And finally, not reporting her missing or raising the alarm when he didn’t find her after he woke up from his drunken stupor. I think that tells us a lot about his character.

Josh Riibe's distraught family say last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive 'wouldn't hurt a fly' - NewsBreak

The family of 24-year-old Josh Riibe, questioned by police as he was the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive at a Punta Cana resort, insists it's not

www.newsbreak.com

After seeing the video feed blast all over the internet, likely doesn’t have a girlfriend back home anymore.

 

[Rita7]

I agree with everyone saying that the circumstances were very poor judgement on her part. 100%. It was poor judgement. But no one is saying, wow what a bad guy to not check in on her after, pushed her too far perhaps, etc. I guess we don't know that for a fact. But it's just interesting to me how our culture expects his sort of behavior, but condemns her for hers. It's sad, actually

100% agree.
IMHO,
Unfortunately, modern society still place higher demands on females compared to males.
This is sort of "echoes" of patriarchy to me.

 

[VeronicaVaughn]

Family of last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki says he ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’

Family of last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki says he ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’

Joshua Steven Riibe, 24, has been identified as the man seen hugging and walking hand-in-hand with the 20-year-old student just hours before she vanished in the Dominican Republic.

nypost.com

 

[CityKid]

The way some of the major news shows are framing the story and referring to him is making me very uncomfortable. It seems intentional to make the story juicy and is likely to damage his reputation and life.
I will be glad to eat my words if it turns out there is involvement, but much of this seems very reckless.
*My opinions.

I agree. This headline is awful. (The hed is "Hulking wrestling star revealed as last man to see missing Dominican Republic spring breaker alive" although that's not how it appears on this link.)

High school wrestling star who last saw Dominican spring breaker alive

A source close to the investigation told DailyMail.com that Riibe, 22, a powerfully-built former high school wrestler, was 'being cooperative'. He is still in Punta Cana.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[TMich6811]

I’m really struggling with the targeting of the “poi” here. IMO it was inappropriate for him to be labeled that until there was something solid. Maybe there is but I think he was just thrown out there to not make this an “omg it’s unsafe” conversation

The only thing we know factually is that they appear to be drunk, were alone together and he was seen leaving the area.

I don’t really see that victim blaming should occur but I also don’t see that we have literally ANY information that puts this on him or makes the blame here either. Presumably he was a drunk man a she was a drunk women both making very poor choices. Both responsible for themselves until we know otherwise.

 

[CityKid]

Josh has a steady gf per this article. Yet here he was hooking up with a stranger during spring break and then not trying to save her when he saw she was in danger of drowning. <modsnip -rumor>. And finally, not reporting her missing or raising the alarm when he didn’t find her after he woke up from his drunken stupor. I think that tells us a lot about his character.

Josh Riibe's distraught family say last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive 'wouldn't hurt a fly' - NewsBreak

The family of 24-year-old Josh Riibe, questioned by police as he was the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive at a Punta Cana resort, insists it's not

www.newsbreak.com

<modsnip - quoted post was snipped>
I posted a few days ago about the time I got caught in a rip current off Cancun. I have Red Cross lifeguard training and certification and I couldn't save myself. It took several trained men to wrangle my 100-pound body and save my life. That was in broad daylight. MOO but I think lots of folks believe it's easy to save someone, even if it's dark out and you're drunk.

Family of wrestling star last to see Sudiksha Konanki alive speak out

The family of 22-year-old Josh Riibe, questioned by police as he was the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive at a Punta Cana resort, insists it's not in his nature to harm anyone.

www.dailymail.co.uk