Baltimore man sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder after stabbing wife 55 times

A 40-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced to life plus three years in prison Friday for fatally stabbing his wife last year.

Amit Kumar was found guilty of first-degree murder and possession of a dangerous weapon.

Melissa Rothstein, a spokeswoman for the state’s Public Defender’s Office who represented Kumar during the trial, said the office will be appealing the case. She declined to comment further, citing the pending appeal.

Prosecutors said Kumar stabbed his wife, Ankita Verma, 55 times in their apartment bedroom in the 6700 block of Holabird Ave. on Jan. 11, 2019.

Verma tried to escape her husband, detectives said, by locking him out of the bedroom and attempting to hold the door shut. Detectives said Verma also tried to shield herself from Kumar by using a stool and a suitcase to block the attack.

When police arrived, they found the bedroom door covered in blood, broken and off its hinges. Blood was also found on the legs of the stool and handle of the suitcase.

The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide and said Verma suffered from dozens of stab and cut wounds.

Prosecutors said that after killing his wife, Kumar fled to Washington D.C., New York City and Vermont. They said Kumar intended to flee to Canada but turned himself in at a police station in Syracuse, New York, after seeing his wanted poster on television. Police had already issued a warrant for first-degree murder.

Kumar admitted to Baltimore Police homicide detectives that he and his wife were the only ones home at the time of the stabbing. But Kumar told detectives that all of his wife’s wounds, some of which reached the bone, were self-inflicted .

“Domestic violence often hides behind closed doors in our society until the worst happens,“ Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a news release Monday. “It is my hope that cases like Ankita’s will encourage people to leave a dangerous situation in their home before it’s too late. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.”

Baltimore Sun reporter Phil Davis contributed to this article.