US man who killed Kuchibhotla pleads guilty, faces 50 yrs in jail

WASHINGTON: A 52-year-old former US navy veteran charged with killing Indian software engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla at a bar in Kansas last year pleaded guilty on Tuesday to murder in the shooting that was linked to a surge in ethnic, racial and antiimmigrant tensions after President Donald Trump’s election.

Adam W Purinton has been charged with one count of murder, two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the shootings of Kuchibhotla’s friend Alok Madasani and another patron, Ian Grillot.

Asked by the judge how he would plead to the first-degree murder charge, Purinton said, “Guilty, your honour.”

He was also charged with hate crime. Purinton faces life in prison with no chance of parole for 50 years when he is sentenced on May 4 for premeditated firstdegree murder.

Witnesses said Purinton, who is white, yelled “Get out of my country!” before firing at the two men, who had stopped for an after-work drink at Austin’s Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas on February 22, 2017.

The men, both 32, had come to the US as students and worked as engineers at nearby GPS-maker Garmin. Kuchibhotla’s widow, Sunayana Dumala, was not at the court Tuesday, issued a statement later.

“We must understand and love one another. Let us continue to work for peace, understanding and love -- the things Srinu stood for and will be his legacy,” Dumala said.