Husband of UMC doctor sentenced to prison for killing wife
A Las Vegas judge sentenced a 34-year-old man to between 10 and 25 years in prison on Thursday for killing his wife, a doctor at University Medical Center.
Shiva Gummi was arrested on April 15, 2023, after he told a 911 dispatcher he had fatally stabbed his wife, 28-year-old Dr. Gwendoline Amsrala.
When police arrived at their home, they found Amsrala dead in her bedroom from multiple stab wounds, laying next to Gummi, who had self-inflicted stab wounds.
Gummi pleaded guilty in April to second-degree murder, court records show. He entered what is known as an Alford plea, meaning he only admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.
District Judge Tierra Jones sentenced Gummi on Thursday to between 10 and 25 years in prison, following the sentence negotiated by attorneys in the guilty plea agreement. Gummi has 405 days of credit for time already served in jail.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Pamela Weckerly read a letter written by Amsrala’s parents during Thursday’s sentencing hearing. In the letter, Amsrala’s parents described her as a compassionate, smart and multitalented woman.
“Actually, we don’t have to explain who Gwen was or what her capabilities and achievements were, because all of the adjectives and nouns in the dictionary may fall short for her,” Weckerly read from the letter.
Her parents went on to describe how they wanted to give their daughter “the best of everything,” and that they were elated when she started her medical residency at University Medical Center after she graduated from UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine in 2022.
In the letter, her parents asked the judge for closure.
“Even after one year, the whole situation is still incomprehensible,” Weckerly read from the letter.
Neither Weckerly nor Gummi’s public defender, David Westbrook, presented arguments to the judge.
Gummi told the judge that he wanted to apologize for “all the pain I’ve caused,” and said he killed his wife in an “emotional reaction caused by severe emotional distress.”
“I would gladly exchange places with my wife if I could,” he said.
During a preliminary hearing held in June, Amsrala’s mother, Nancy Palatty, testified that she had moved into her daughter’s home about 10 months before Amsrala was killed. Palatty said she never saw the couple argue in front of her, but that she heard a disturbance the night before Amsrala’s body was found. Gummi had been upset with Amsrala for spending the night at a friend’s house, Palatty said.
Shortly after Amsrala was killed, her fellow physicians told reporters that she had aspired to work as a critical care physician, and that she would be remembered for her witty humor.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.