Orange County Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Stabbing Wife to Death

A Highland Falls man was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for the 2014 stabbing death of his wife, Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced Thursday.

Leonard Salters, 52, stabbed his wife four times in the torso and stomach, killing her, during an argument on June 20, 2014. A neighbor in the apartment beneath Salters called Highland Falls police after hearing the struggle. Blood was visible on Salter's clothing as he ran out of his apartment when police arrived. Salters then ran to his car and fled the state. He was taken into custody in Irvington, N.J. after his car hit a cement barrier on the Garden State Parkway.

Salters pleaded guilty to the murder on Aug. 31, 2015.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office had recommended Salters be sentenced to 20 years to life.

"This senseless and brutal murder epitomizes the horrors to which domestic violence can escalate," Hoovler said in a press release issued by his office.