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Stamford Mayor Praises Work By Police After Killer Is Sentenced To 60 Years

STAMFORD, Conn. – After the man who stabbed a local cab driver a horrifying 127 times was sentenced to spend 60 years in prison, Mayor David Martin praised the work of the Stamford Police Department. 

Shota Mekoshvili was convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison for the stabbing death of a Stamford cab driver.

Shota Mekoshvili was convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison for the stabbing death of a Stamford cab driver.

Photo Credit: Stamford Police Department
Stamford taxi driver Mahomed Kamal with wife Sultana and their then-3-and-a-half-year-old son Sayfayt, in an undated photograph.

Stamford taxi driver Mahomed Kamal with wife Sultana and their then-3-and-a-half-year-old son Sayfayt, in an undated photograph.

Photo Credit: Contributed

“Now that this case has been decided, I would like to say that this was a shocking, horrifying crime, and no matter the sentence, the loss to his wife and family will never be rectified," Martin said in a statement Wednesday. "Mr. [Mahomed] Kamal was just trying to earn an honest living for his family, and did not deserve this."

Shota Mekoshvili, 32, was sentenced Tuesday to 60 years in prison by Judge John Blawie for the horrific murder of Kamal, 47, in August 2014.

"If it weren’t for the quick actions and excellent work by the Stamford Police Department, I don’t think this case would have ended this way. They brought this criminal to justice, and in doing so, hopefully brought some closure to the family," the mayor said.

"Nothing our police or Judge Blawie do can ever make up for the terrible loss of life. Thankfully the SPD is a group of law enforcement professionals; the best in the state. They solve incidents and close cases. This heinous crime was solved in less than 20 hours. With Chief [Jonathan] Fontneau’s leadership, the SPD will continue to protect the hard-working residents of Stamford.”

The 60-year sentence was the maximum, but Blawie said it was not enough for the heinous murder, calling it an act of "viciousness" and pure "brutality," according to the Stamford Advocate. 

In May, a jury found Mekoshvili guilty of murdering Kamal by brutally stabbing him 127 times in his cab on Doolittle Road, a quiet cul-de-sac off Long Ridge Road.

Prosecutors said Mekoshvili stabbed Kamal during a robbery gone wrong, which accounted for enough stab wounds to have killed the victim in three different ways.

But Mekoshvili testified that he was fending off a sexual advance from Kamal when the bloody struggle occurred. He also said he wrestled a knife away from Kamal and feared for his life.

Residents of the quiet neighborhood were shocked by the discovery of the Kamal's dead body outside a home, where he had staggered as the attack continued outside the cab, police said. He was so bloodied and wounded from the stabbing attack that he was unrecognizable, police said.

The cab was found a short distance away in a wooded area.

Click here for the story at the Stamford Advocate.

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