LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Clark County judge sentenced a Las Vegas man to 10-25 in years in prison on second-degree murder charges Thursday after the man apologized for stabbing his wife to death.
Last month, Shiva Gummi, 34, pleaded in court pursuant to what is commonly known as an ‘Alford’ plea, where – generally speaking – a defendant formally admits guilty but simultaneously expresses his or her innocence.
In this case, Gummi admitted guilt in open court.
“I’m responsible for my wife’s death,” Gummi said in judge Tierra Jones’ courtroom Thursday. “But there was no willingness or deliberation involved. It was an emotional reaction caused by severe emotional distress, heartbreak and mental anguish. I would gladly exchange places with my wife if I could.”
The victim, Dr. Gwendoline Amsrala, 28, had recently graduated from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. She was a resident at UMC at the time of her death. Police say after Gummi stabbed Amsrala, he turned the knife on himself.
Immediately following her death, friends and colleagues said her death was hard to fathom.
“Every day I would wake up and hope that the reality wasn’t true until eventually, it sank in,” Dr. Omar Sanyurah, a Medical Resident at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, said in 2023.
Amsrala’s familiy did not speak in court today but the prosecutor, Chief Deputy District Attorney Pamela Weckerly, read a statement from Amsrala’s mother.
“Gwendoline was the kind of daughter any parent would ever wish for,” Weckerly read. “And we are very proud to be known as Gwen’s parents. She was a compassionate young woman, smart, working and multi-talented.”