ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A man was sentenced Friday, 11 years after he murdered his cousin in a fit of jealousy because she had a PhD. After the murder, he tried to hide halfway around the world.
Deputies say Kamlesh Agarwal traveled to India and stayed there after killing the woman near UCF. Friday, the judge sentenced him to 25 years, the maximum allowed for second-degree murder.
As if the killing wasn't bad enough, the judge said what Kamlesh Agarwal did after he killed his cousin was shocking and that's why he gave him the full 25 years.
For the family of Deepa Agarwal, who was 20 at the time she was murdered, there is finally some justice.
"It was 11 years ago I received a phone call every mother, father, sister and brother dreads," Deepa's sister Sheela said.
Inside an Orange County courtroom, Sheela spoke out about Deepa's murder and the man who killed her in, Kamlesh Agarwal, a distant cousin.
"Whenever I close my eyes and think of Deepa, I see him smashing my sister against the wall, against the headboard, over and over again," she said.
Kamlesh Agarwal then stuffed her body in a box and left her in a closet inside the apartment the two shared. Family says it was jealousy; the two were both UCF students. Deepa was just 20 and going for her PhD.
After the murder, Kamlesh ran, sold his car, and fled to India. He was arrested by Indian authorities in Bombay and fought extradition for eight years. Two years ago, he was finally brought back to the U.S.
Friday in court, Kamlesh entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder and cried.
"I never wanted this to happen. I do not know what to do now," he said.
A sigh came over the courtroom, Deepa's family relieved when the judge handed down a 25-year sentence, the most allowed under this plea deal.
"She was my big sister. She meant everything to me," Sheela said.
Kamlesh will get credit for the 10 years he's already served, so he'll have about 15 years left on his sentence. He'll likely only spend 13 years in state prison and get out when he's 46 years old.