Carroll County man sentenced to life in prison for ‘particularly gruesome murder’ of his father

A Carroll County man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for killing his father.

A jury found Ravi Pansuriya, 31, guilty of first-degree murder in November when prosecutors asked for a life sentence due to the “particularly gruesome murder,” according to a news release from the Carroll County State Attorney’s Office.

In October 2022, a man found the dismembered body of 59-year-old Dr. Maganbhai Pansuriya on Medford Road outside New Windsor. A few days later Carroll County Sheriff’s Office detectives found Pansuriya’s head and hands in a creek off Old Washington Road.

Dr. Pansuriya was reported missing Oct. 2 by his wife, who arrived home in Westminster to find blood around the house and signs of a struggle in the bathroom, according to the release. Her son came home shortly thereafter driving the family truck.

Investigators later found blood and human tissue in the bed of the truck, as well as on various tools in the garage, including hedge trimmers, branch cutters, an ax, a pick ax, a baseball bat and a rake. His pants contained the blood and DNA of his father, he was caught on video buying an axe that morning, and the body was found wrapped in linens and a rug from the family home, according to the release.

Dr. Stephanie Dean, the state’s interim chief medical examiner , testified during the trial that Dr. Pansuriya was stabbed 45 times, suffered nine cutting wounds, and had blunt force injuries of the head.

“Murders this exceptionally horrific and brutal rarely occur in Carroll County, especially one committed by a son against his father.  We hope that this sentence brings some solace to the family and friends of Dr. Pansuriya during what must be a very traumatic time for them,” Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker said in a news release.

Pansuriya was sentenced by Carroll County Circuit Court Judge Maria L. Oesterreicher.