A North Carolina man has admitted to murdering his industrial engineer wife and staging her death as a suicide.
Michael Aaron Matthews, 42, was sentenced on Monday to 13 to 16 years and nine months in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Nabaruna Karmaker, 33. She was discovered shot to death at the couple’s home in Morrisville, a town about 15 miles northwest of Raleigh.
Her arm was wrapped around a box holding the ashes of her recently deceased dog, Boomer. A potted plant was next to her arm, as were a gas can and a 12-gauge shotgun.
Matthews had summoned emergency personnel to the home, claiming there had been a “double suicide.”
However, the details of his story did not add up.
According to a report in The News & Observer, Karmaker’s two shotgun wounds, one to her torso and one to her neck, were fired in “quick succession” from different ranges. The autopsy reportedly concluded that suicide was “highly unlikely” in light of this.
Karmakar, an industrial engineer, researcher, and data scientist, reportedly filed for divorce from Matthews a week earlier.
“You took advantage of her ability to love and her kind soul,” Karmakar’s sister, Monita Karmakar, said in a statement read in court by Assistant District Attorney Christina Koscianski. “When she wanted to leave you, instead of letting her go, you decided to end her life so no one else could feel her love.”
Koscianski acknowledged that Karmakar had previously attempted suicide, taking a handful of pills and being hospitalized. This was allegedly a suicide pact with Matthews.
Matthews wrote a letter, ostensibly on his and his wife’s behalf, in which Karmakar allegedly asked for his assistance in committing suicide because she was distraught over Boomer’s death. The prosecutor, however, claimed that the husband staged the scene. Matthews had bought the shotgun, ammunition, potted plant, gas can, and gasoline the day before.
Karmakar’s loved ones painted a bleak picture of Matthews. They claimed that the husband, who abused alcohol, dismissed his wife’s grief over Boomer’s death and belittled her, according to the News & Observer.
Monita’s lawsuit against Matthews is still ongoing in Wake County court.
“Gentle, kind, and loving, she lived for her family and friends, especially her nieces and nephews,” Monita said in her statement. “She was the life of the party.” Because of her ability to connect, she created a community wherever she went.