Reetika Gina Vazirani was born August 9, 1962, in Patiala, India, to Sunder Vazirani (an oral surgeon and educator) and Heea Vazirani (a diplomat’s daughter). Her family immigrated to the U.S. in 1968, settling in Illinois. After graduating high school near Washington D.C., she earned a BA from Wellesley College in 1984, followed by a prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for global travel. She later completed an MFA at the University of Virginia as a Hoyns Fellow.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Reetika built a notable literary and academic career. She lived with her son Jehan and partner Yusef Komunyakaa in New Jersey, teaching poetry at The College of New Jersey. Later, she became Writer‑in‑Residence at William & Mary and was set to join Emory University in 2003. Her published works include White Elephants (1995) and World Hotel (2002), the latter winning the 2003 Anisfield‑Wolf Book Award. 

On July 16, 2003, Reetika was housesitting friends' home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. That morning, Reetika’s friend Diane Taylor received a distressing voicemail from her at around 7:15 a.m., saying, “I’m going to hurt myself and Jehan.” Numerous concerned calls that day, including to a local priest (Rev. Percival D’Silva) and another friend, went unanswered—Reetika was clearly in crisis.  

Later that afternoon, a friend let herself into the house and discovered a disturbing scene: Reetika and her two-year-old son Jehan—now Jehan Vazirani Komunyakaa—lying side by side in a pool of blood in the dining room, their bodies slumped together. Jehan had been stabbed multiple times—in the chest, neck, and forearm—with wounds damaging his heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Reetika had inflicted fatal wounds upon herself, slashing her own wrist repeatedly. Two large kitchen knives and a note referencing her estranged partner (poet Yusef Komunyakaa) were found at the scene. 

Police ruled it a murder–suicide, though an official statement awaited medical examiner confirmation. At the scene, investigators recovered slashed wrists, blood from both victims, a striking note referencing Komunyakaa, and the two bloody knives—evidence that revealed the sequence of events. 

The medical examiner’s report confirmed Jehan died first from the stab wounds; Reetika’s wounds were consistent with self-inflicted homicide before her own death.