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

[PrairieWind]

I mean this with respect, this case is literally the opening scene of JAWS. I pray she is found soon, but oceans can become death traps in minutes. At Myrtle Beach in 2023, a young woman got caught in a rip tide, broad daylight and right outside of our balcony. Her cousin went in to help her and she made it out but he drowned. It was so distressing. They were having a family reunion and the whole family was on the beach just a few yards from our balcony. His body washed ashore the next day. It just happened so fast.

I was thinking the same thing when I heard the story about him passing out on the beach and waking to find her gone.

 

[Rita7]

Moo… in my mind, if he saved her from drowning, he would surely have followed through to make sure she was ok, not just watch her walk away. My hinkey meter is off

Exactly!
Also, the most disturbing for me is the fact that he did not report her missing.
Plus, JR was the last person to see SK.
In addition, he told LE several different stories/versions of what happened that morning.
IMOO, all this makes JR the perfect POI, I guess.

 

[Maat99]

So his story has changed for the 4th time? Now he’s a hero who saved SK from the waves. So where is she?
Something stinks! JMO

Yeah - a few observations:
IMO these are not spring break party girls based on their clothing alone.
None of these girls seem impaired
The friends are remarkably unconcerned when they return to the hotel. I think these girls are very trusting and naive.
What some people see as SK stumbling in the video, looks more to me like she tries to move away and he pulls her back - that’s when she is off balance.
He is definitely holding something in his pocket on the way back in IMO. It looks very unnatural to me. Maybe just his room key - who knows.
Also, fwiw, GHB is ridiculously easy to get these days. At my daughter’s large university, the fraternities/sororities actually have a rule that girls must have cups with lids before they can enter parties - because rufies + sexual assault is such an issue. It’s actually pretty terrifying.
His reported interview is ridiculous. How can he claim to “save” her when she is missing and most likely dead?
IF this guy was up to no good, SK was a sitting duck. JMO.


Last thought, IMO swimming is not a skill commonly learned by children of Indian origin. I have some anecdata on this - but would love to hear what someone with more knowledge has to say.

 

[Vaderman]

Exactly!
Also, the most disturbing for me is the fact that he did not report her missing.
Plus, JR was the last person to see SK.
In addition, he told LE several different stories/versions of what happened that morning.
IMOO, all this makes JR the perfect POI, I guess.

It doesn't strike me as too odd he didn't report her missing, especially if they had only just met while intoxicated. In my foolish days there were plenty of boozy nights hanging out with new people who faded in and out of view.

 

[bestill]

It is interesting that we haven't heard from her friends. All JMO

 

[minazoe]

he probably woke up and thought she took off back to the hotel. I was caught in an ocean riptide only 10 or 15 feet from the shore and it can literally break your bones, the ocean is no joke and it will kill you easily. I hope she is found. mOO

 

[TMich6811]

I was trying to dig this up but don’t have a lot of time right now. I’m positive I read something about translators

Were each of his inconsistencies matched with a new translator?

 

[armchairagatha]

It is interesting that we haven't heard from her friends. All JMO

Their parents probably don’t want their names in the news. These families won’t want the notoriety of this case.

 

[Hanoi2009]

Starting with a large, athletic male, then adding a guess based on a vague and fuzzy benchmark of say:

- Clearly no stranger to alcohol, but not a routine binge drinker either....

I would guess: 5-6 resort drinks (important idea) to get pleasantly buzzed. 8-10 to get moderately intoxicated. 12-15 to get staggering drunk, black out approaching. But.... factor in that he would also be metabolizing one drink an hour. So, the number of drinks goes up.

I am thinking that the resort drinks are relatively watered. Likewise, young males in good physical condition can develop a pretty good tolerance with out the need for years of prior "experience".

And.... I suspect the resort waiters and waitresses might not come around all that fast to dispense yet another round of free drinks. So there could be another time factor in addition to metabolization.

Welcoming any other opinions.....

I thought I read somewhere that they had been at the club Coco Bongo. I will look for that source. OMO

edited by me: I have seen reports of payments for Coco Bongo on her Venmo. No info on when they went; says they were made on March 5. Could have been payments in advance or after the fact.

Info about the Venmo payment for Coco Bongo

 

[Hanoi2009]

OK, here's another opinion. That seems like an awful lot o

OK, here's another opinion. That seems like an awful lot of drinks! Although a large, athletic male could tolerate more than a smaller female, easily. I'd say 5-7 drinks for the young male, depending on the strength of the drink. For the female, it could be as few as 4. Depends also on how much food is in the stomach and how quickly the drinks are consumed.

f drinks! Although a large, athletic male could tolerate more than a smaller female, easily. I'd say 5-7 drinks for the young male, depending on the strength of the drink. For the female, it could be as few as 4. Depends also on how much food is in the stomach and how quickly the drinks are consumed.

Husband and I went to Punta Cana in '09. Went to the club on property and drank at the disco. He had an allergic reaction to something and his face swelled up about an hour later. There are well-documented issues with liquor in some places in the DR not being the brand-name booze it was supposed to be...so who knows what they drank? Could've been super off-brand alcohol, something could've ended up in their drinks, who knows, really? I suppose her friends would know if she was disproportionately drunk beyond what she consumed, but I don't know if we'll get to hear anything from them as we haven't heard anything thus far. JMO IMHO OMO

 

[Hanoi2009]

wouldn't you ask for a lawyer in this situation regardless of guilt?

I wondered about this, too. I know some would probably believe it makes you look guilty from the start, but I would've brought a lawyer, especially considering the international implications.

 

[CityKid]

It is interesting that we haven't heard from her friends. All JMO

I'm hoping they're being repeatedly interviewed so we can get a clearer picture. I'd rather not be hearing from this at this point, because that could mean the press is tracking them down for interviews.

 

[Chili Fries]

I don't fully understand what he was trying to say with his story based on the reports I've seen but if they'd had such a bad experience in the water that he had to save her life and was vomiting due to all the water he'd swallowed, why would she go back in the water or even near it? If he's saying she did, that would not make sense to me. Seems like that would have been the last thing she would have wanted to do after nearly drowning.

 

[minazoe]

okay, I wonder if she also vomited on the beach? would she have gone into the water to try and rinse off? drinking is so dangerous around water. ugh..I wish they would find her! mOO

 

[Marie A]

I think that this is just a horrible tragedy.
I still think she drowned.
I also think that Josh’s remembrance of “saving her” is possibly valid.
He remembered kissing her in the water and then they are pulled out/ tossed
and he fought to pull her back in.
His last sighting of her walking in knee depth water could also be valid.
She may not have had the composure to realize she needed to be completely out of the water for her own safety.
I’ve been to many different Caribbean beaches and I know the feeling of wanting to exit a rough ocean and wondering if you will be completely on shore before being pulled back in or not and it’s a daunting feeling.
Also a lot depends on how quickly the sandy beach “drops off” - is it very gradual or is there a close drop off? The texture of the sand can make it easier or harder to exit too-the finer and more well-packed sand is easier to exit but grittier loosely packed sand is harder as you sink deeper.
Apparently it was high tide at the time Sudiksha disappeared.
Josh could also be remembering dribs and drabs from his “black out” state-
maybe she did ask if he was ok as he threw up?
She could very well have been pulled back out from knee depth when he
threw up or shortly after.
With the force of this ocean and the red flag warnings it’s a miracle that more
people don’t drown- maybe they do and it’s not a news story.
It’s hard enough during the light of day if you are caught in waves- that could only
be magnified exponentially on a dark night with lights out at the hotel so you may struggle to even find the direction of the shore. Then add the possibility of inebriation and that puts it on another level.

As far as other witnesses on the beach, I assume there may have been others laying down in beach chairs looking at stars if awake. Very doubtful they will find others who actually saw Josh and Sudishka entering or exiting the ocean that night.

I do think that the fact Josh is remaining at the hotel and being willing to assist as well as sharing his information with her family/ friends does speak positively about his character and his upbringing.

He has been free to go and most of the parents I know (who God forbid) would have a son in Josh’s position would have collected their child/ lawyered up and gotten the hell out of dodge immediately.

I do commend him for attempting to do the right thing after the fact and I personally do not think Josh intentionally harmed or assaulted Sudishka in any way. This is a life changing tragedy for him and for his family as well. It’s just very sad.

IMHO

 

[CityKid]

I wondered about this, too. I know some would probably believe it makes you look guilty from the start, but I would've brought a lawyer, especially considering the international implications.

Especially in a foreign country where you might not speak the language.

 

[branmuffin]

OK, here's another opinion. That seems like an awful lot of drinks! Although a large, athletic male could tolerate more than a smaller female, easily. I'd say 5-7 drinks for the young male, depending on the strength of the drink. For the female, it could be as few as 4. Depends also on how much food is in the stomach and how quickly the drinks are consumed.

There are certain venues where people drink from the time they get up till the time they go to bed and two of them are all-inclusive resorts and cruise ships (if they buy the drink package). Imagine, you get up, have breakfast and have a couple of mimosas with your breakfast. Then you head to the pool where the bars are and have a couple of rum and cokes or some fancy cocktails and these are free pour drinks. Then you head out for brunch and have something else to drink, beer, wine or cocktails then back to the beach or pool and someone's coming around asking if you want a drink and yes, you do. Then you get ready for dinner and have a few glasses of wine and maybe an after dinner drink and then you go to the disco or a club and drink some more. Even though you may not feel drunk you could have had over 14 drinks over a 12 hour period. And for the March break crowd those numbers are probably a conservative estimate. So not really tipsy but still, your reaction times, your balance, your ability to make the correct decisions, and dehydration issues will affect you and depending what your plans are could put you in a very vulnerable position. And all those variables don't even include a person's physiology. Are you tall, short, muscular, or carry a lot of fat? Weight does play a role in how inebriated a person can be but so does your BMI. You could have two people the same weight but the one with a higher BMI is going to get drunk quicker than the one with a lower BMI because fat has less water in it than muscle so the alcohol has less muscle to spread into. That's one of the reasons women seem to get drunk quicker than men because our bodies naturally have a higher BMI than men.

 

[Rita7]

Unbelievable, how many people are making excuses for this guy.
However, he has never even reported SK missing. I guess it was the first red flag for the LE.
Next, JR can't remember the lies he told the police; thus, none of what he says makes any sense now.
Plus, he lawyered-up really quickly, was advised to refuse providing any further statements to LE, which is in his "best interests", though looks very selfish. It seems like he is not helping investigation any more.
So all of this doesn't make him look good. IMHO

 

[Pharmasgirl]

he probably woke up and thought she took off back to the hotel. I was caught in an ocean riptide only 10 or 15 feet from the shore and it can literally break your bones, the ocean is no joke and it will kill you easily. I hope she is found. mOO

Supposedly he was a lifeguard. Water poses a danger be it lake, ocean, river - if you don’t respect it. I was raised in the country and from an early age warned to never turn your back on the ocean & be careful around water. Something just seems off - to me.

 

[nightowl2728]

Unbelievable, how many people are making excuses for this guy.
However, he has never even reported SK missing. I guess it was the first red flag for the LE.
Next, JR can't remember the lies he told the police; thus, none of what he says makes any sense now.
Plus, he lawyered-up really quickly, was advised to refuse providing any further statements to LE, which is in his "best interests", though looks very selfish. It seems like he is not helping investigation any more.
So all of this doesn't make him look good. IMHO

Agree.. to me there's just so much more circumstantial evidence making me think he has some culpability more than the other way around. Just actual facts not necessarily how media is or is not portraying it. For example, if I saw somewhere there was evidence of him trying to save her/see what happened to her after versus him just saying that, I may feel otherwise

Edit: And the fact that he will not disclose the conversation he had with his roommate at the hotel when he got back (nor will the roommate disclose). What could he have said that would have been so bad if he actually has no culpability?