The drowning of a Sammamish woman last night in Beaver Lake has been ruled a suicide, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office confirms.

Officials now say Lavanya Tirumalasetty, 33, died by asphyxia due to intentionally drowning herself.

A Microsoft software design engineer, Tirumalasetty is survived by her husband Mahesh Tangella and two three-year-old twin girls.

Initial reports had stated the drowning was accidental and speculated the woman was unable to swim.

Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said the incident occurred about 8:15 p.m. The 33 year-old victim left her house nearby and walked to Beaver Lake Park in the 25100 block of SE 24th Street. She was apparently upset over an argument with her husband. According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, she waded in the shallows with a friend and then disappeared beneath the water.

The friend accompanying Tirumalasetty then reportedly called 911 and a King County Sheriff’s diver and Eastside Fire & Rescue found the woman at 9:15 p.m. about 25 feet from shore. Medics were unable to revive her.

Tirumalasetty and Tangella have been Sammamish residents since 2004.

Upon hearing the news of the drowning near the residence of a co-worker, Microsoft employee Jimmy Hutson contacted the Sammamish Reporter with the hope his former friend and colleague wasn’t involved in the tragedy. The news of her death left him deeply saddened and concerned for her family.

“She was a very passionate person, and was doing extremely well at Microsoft,” he said.

“She was a very lively person, with a lot of positive energy, and it is terrible to see that light extinguished so quickly and so tragically.”

Fellow Microsoft co-worker Trung Nguyen shared similar sentiments.

“Lavanya was an intelligent individual who was always very happy with her life; her family, her work, and her friends,” he wrote in an e-mail.

“She was a very caring individual and a great friend that I will greatly miss.”