Friday, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced the sentencing of a Chandler man who recently pleaded guilty to murdering his wife. 

Mohammad Alkurdi, 40,  has been sentenced to more than 31 years in state prison for shooting his wife at their home in Chandler, according to a news release from Mitchell's office.

The County Attorney's Office said on the morning of March 14, 2023, Chandler Police were called to a domestic violence situation at an apartment complex.

The caller reported that her neighbor had just shot his wife.

Police located the defendant outside of the apartment and the couple’s four children, all younger than age 9, were inside the leasing office with the reporting neighbor.

The body of the mother of the children was located inside the family’s apartment in a bedroom closet with two fatal gunshot wounds.

Investigators learned that all four children were home when the shooting occurred, MCAO said. One of the children, who was age 7 at the time, witnessed the shooting and said she wanted to protect her mom, but it happened too fast.

MCAO said the shooting was the result of a series of domestic violence incidents that had been escalating weeks prior, including one instance where the victim had been threatened by Alkurdi with a knife.

At the time of her death, the wife was in the process of gathering documents for an order of protection, had changed the locks on her residence, and was seeking domestic violence assistance.

On March 12 of this year, Alkurdi pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder and three counts of disorderly conduct involving weapons. All of the charges are felonies.

On April 25, Alkurdi was sentenced to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder and 2.25 years for each count of the weapons charges, all to be served consecutively.

MCAO also said if you or someone you know is experiencing abuse,  call or text the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit www.thehotline.org.

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