Irvine man sentenced to 25 years to life for killing his wife over her affair

Despite family members’ pleas to a judge for mercy, an Irvine man was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison for strangling his wife to death after he discovered she was having an affair.

Shalabh Rastogi, 42, attacked his 40-year-old wife, Jalina George, in their home while they were arguing about marital troubles the night of May 21, 2012, according to a grand jury indictment.

A month earlier, Rastogi found birth control medication, even though he’d had a vasectomy years earlier, leading him to suspect that George was cheating on him, prosecutors said.

George at first denied having an affair, but she later admitted it after Rastogi followed her and watched her meet with another man, according to the indictment.

The night of the killing, Rastogi “snapped” and grabbed George’s throat, court documents state. Later that night, he called police to say he had killed his wife, prosecutors said.

In November, a jury convicted Rastogi of first-degree murder.

Before Friday’s sentencing hearing, the couple’s three children and George’s family members wrote a stack of letters asking Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Cassidy to spare Rastogi the lengthy prison term, according to public defender Melani Bartholomew.

“My client is a meek, soft-spoken person who has never done anything in his whole life that would indicate that he would be at this table ever,” Bartholomew said.

She asked Cassidy to place Rastogi on probation instead of behind bars. “He loves his children. He’s devoted his life to his children,” she said.

Rastogi sat mostly motionless during the hearing, staring at the table in front of him. He spoke to Cassidy only once, quietly indicating that he understood what was happening.

Bartholomew argued that Rastogi’s wife dominated their relationship and irreparably damaged it when she had an affair.

“It’s devastating to a marriage,” Bartholomew said. “It’s devastating to a person, and I don’t know if she ever really realized the impact that selfish decision would have on her kids, her family, her husband.”

Prosecutor Cynthia Herrera said Rastogi alone was responsible for his actions.

“This court did not make those children orphans. The victim didn’t. He did,” she said, pointing at Rastogi. “It was his jealously, his suspicion, his anger as he stewed for a month.”