Indian healthcare expert stabbed to death in United States of Maryland

A young Indian healthcare professional was found stabbed to death inside an apartment in the US state of Maryland, police said, as authorities launched an international search for her ex-boyfriend, who left the country for India hours after reporting her missing.

Howard County police said on Sunday that Nikitha Godishala, 27, of Ellicott City, was found deceased on January 3 inside an apartment in Columbia belonging to her former partner, Arjun Sharma, 26. 

Sharma, also from India, is now wanted on first- and second-degree murder charges, and US authorities are working with federal agencies to trace and arrest him after confirming he flew to



India.

According to Howard County Police, Sharma reported Godishala missing on January 2 and told police he had last seen her on December 31 at his apartment in the 10100 block of Twin Rivers Road. 

Authorities later determined that Sharma departed the United States for India later that same day, according to an official release.

Howard County Police said its detectives executed a search warrant at the apartment on January 3, where they discovered Godishala’s body with stab wounds. Police believe she was killed shortly after 7 p.m. on December 31, New Year’s Eve. Investigators said the inquiry remains ongoing and that no motive has been identified so far, a media release said.