Shriya Patel, 27, who has been incarcerated on $1 million bail since her arrest nearly two years ago, stands charged with capital murder, arson with intent to cause bodily injury or death and aggravated assault.

She faces a sentence of automatic life in prison without parole, if convicted.

Prosecutors said they did not know the reason why Shriya Patel chose to kill her husband, who had been born in India but "grew up basically an American kid" in Amarillo, so horrifically but suggested she likely did not love him as their marriage had been arranged.