India, Jan. 5 -- An Indian-origin woman who went missing on New Year's Eve was found dead with stab wounds inside the apartment of her ex-boyfriend in Columbia, Maryland, US, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Nikitha Godishala, 27, a resident of Ellicott City.

Authorities suspect her ex-boyfriend, Arjun Sharma, 26, of Columbia, in connection with the killing.

According to investigators, Sharma himself filed the missing person report on January 2, telling police that he had last seen Godishala at his apartment. However, authorities later discovered that Sharma left the United States for India on the same day after filing the report.

"Detectives executed a search warrant at the apartment on January 3 and located Godishala...