Stabbed her 17 times, drove over her: How an Indian man killed his wife in the US

An Indian man has been sentenced to life in prison in the US state of Florida.He has been charged for fatally stabbing his 26-year-old wife 17 times and then drove over her body before leaving the scene in 2020.The incident happened in the parking lot of a hospital where the girl was working as a nurse.Philip Mathew on Friday pleaded no contest to the first-degree murder of Merin Joy, his wife who was planning an escape from an abusive relationship, The Sun Sentinel newspaper reported.The plea deal spared him from the possibility of a death sentence, the report said. The couple were natives of Kerala.Here's what we know about the incident.‘Drove over her like she was a speed bump’In 2020, Joy, 26, then a nurse at Broward Health Coral Springs, was stabbed 17 times by her husband.Mathew blocked Joy's car in with his vehicle at the parking lot of Broward Health Coral Springs hospital, where she worked.He then slashed her repeatedly and drove over her body on the ground before running away.According to one of Joy's coworkers, Mathew drove over her "like she was a speed bump," and when they went to her aid, Joy could only wail to them over and over, saying "I have a baby."Joy revealed her attacker's identify before succumbing to her injuries, which led to Mathew's arrest.No possibility of release During Friday’s trial, Mathew also pleaded no contest to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.He was immediately sentenced to life in state prison with no possibility of release, plus a maximum of five years for the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.“The decision was made to waive the death penalty because of the certainty of the life sentence and because the defendant was giving up his right to appeal, said Paula McMahon,” spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office.Joy's mother is "glad to know her daughter's killer would remain the rest of his years in jail and she's relieved to know the legal process is over," he said Friday. However, her family remains devastated by their profound loss.With inputs from PTI