NEW YORK: A 46-year-old Indian-American has been charged with stabbing his wife to death early Tuesday, July 19, morning in their apartment as their three children slept nearby, as per a report in NJ.com

Nitin P. Singh, 46, was found covered with blood standing over his wife, Seema Singh, 42, in their kitchen when emergency personnel arrived at 5:30 a.m., according to Pennsville Chief of Police Allen J. Cummings.

Singh has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree aggravated assault, fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and fourth-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Singh is accused of stabbing his wife Seema Singh, 42, at least 30 times last week and has been remanded to the Salem County Correctional Facility in default of bail of a million dollars cash, the Pennsville Police Department said.

Cummings said Singh himself had called 911 seeking help for his wife.

The couple’s three children – two boys, aged 16 and 6 and a 5-year old girl – were taken from the apartment through a side door so they did not see the crime scene in the kitchen, authorities said.

The children were taken to the Pennsville police station and state protective services workers took custody of them, the report said.

“This is a very horrific scene. It’s a situation where there are children involved and they have lost their mother and their father is probably going to be incarcerated,” Cummings said.

While authorities are investigating the cause of the murder, police have indicated it could have been some sort of domestic dispute.

Cummings said that Pennsville police had never been called to the Singhs’ apartment for any type of domestic troubles in the past.

The Singhs owned the building where the murder took place and had owned a convenience store in the locality.

Neighbours expressed shock at the murder, saying it was hard to believe Singh could commit such a crime.

“He’s the nicest person I ever met. I never heard any type of fighting going on. They never raised their voice or anything,” Singh’s neighbour George Hemple said of him.