Man charged with strangling wife in Irvine apartment

SANTA ANA -- A man has been charged with strangling his wife to death in their Irvine apartment, then calling police himself to report the crime, KTLA reported Wednesday.

Shalabh Rastogi, 39, of Irvine is charged with one felony count of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison if convicted.

Prosecutors requested that Rastogi be held without bail at his arraignment on Wednesday in Santa Ana.

At the time of the crime, Rastogi was said to be having marital trouble with his 40-year-old wife Jalina George. The couple has three school-aged children.

Prosecutors allege that on Monday, Rastogi strangled and murdered George in a bedroom of their Irvine apartment. Rastogi is further accused of leaving George’s body in the bedroom closet and then calling the police.

The Irvine Police Department, who investigated this case, immediately responded to the scene and arrested Rastogi without incident.

The couple’s three children were not home at the time and are now in protective custody.