In 2020, in Florida, a man from India named Philip Mathew was given a life sentence for brutally killing his wife, Merin Joy. She was working as a nurse at a hospital, and it’s reported that she was trying to leave an abusive marriage.
Philip Mathew admitted his guilt by not contesting the charge of first-degree murder. This means he won’t fight the accusation, and he’s now serving a life sentence for the crime.
The plea deal spared him from the possibility of a death sentence, the report said.
In 2020, a 26-year-old nurse named Joy, who worked at Broward Health Coral Springs, was brutally attacked. According to the police, a man named Mathew trapped her car, repeatedly stabbed her, ran over her with his own car, and then fled the scene.
One of her co-workers would later say Mathew drove over her “like she was a speed bump,” and as employees rushed to her aid, Joy could only cry to them over and over: “I have a baby.” Before she died, police said, she revealed her attacker’s identity.
On Friday, Mathew admitted to an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without contest. He was given a life sentence in state prison without any chance of being released, and an additional maximum of five years for the aggravated assault.
They chose not to pursue the death penalty because they were sure about the life sentence, and the defendant decided not to appeal this decision. This information was shared by Paula McMahon, who speaks for the State Attorney’s Office.
Joy’s family remains devastated by their profound loss.
Joy’s cousin, Joby Philip, watched the court hearing on Zoom from his home in Tampa. Afterward, he explained to Joy’s family that Joy’s mother is relieved to learn that the person who killed her daughter will stay in jail for the rest of his life, and she’s happy to know that the legal proceedings have come to an end.
