A Virginia man was formally given a life prison sentence this week for killing his wife in a brutal attack with a hammer in 2016, according to WRIC.

Prosecutors argued the nature of the charges against 34-year-old Harshadkumar Jadav warranted the sentence while defense attorneys cited his otherwise promising future in pleading for a shorter term.

“The attack upon the victim in this case was particularly brutal,” said Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Shari Skipper.

Jadav was convicted of first-degree murder in June for the Sept. 5, 2016 attack on his wife, 30-year-old Reena Jadav. A jury heard that deputies recovered her body from a residential lawn a short distance from the couple’s home in Mechanicsville, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Reports indicate she suffered numerous injuries, including a broken skull and jaw. She was struck at least 19 times with the hammer during the attack, experts stated.

A woman reportedly discovered the murder weapon and clothing on her property as she mowed her lawn two days after the body was found. Analysts found the victim’s blood on the hammer and DNA from both the husband and wife on a pair of underwear recovered from the lawn, prosecutors said.

When Harshadkumar Jadav was arrested about a week after the murder, he was reportedly carrying a bag that contained underwear identical to that pair.

Prosecutors pointed to about $1 million in life insurance policies — along with the fact that he wasted no time getting on with his dating life — as a primary motive for the murder.

Defense attorney Vaughan Jones attempted to convince the jury that his client did not know about his wife’s insurance policies prior to her death. He also accused authorities of failing to conduct a sufficiently extensive search for other possible suspects.

[Featured image: Reena Jadav/Facebook]