Abbotsford, B.C-(Parvasi Media)Jagpreet Singh has been convicted of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his wife, Balwinder Kaur, inside her Abbotsford, B.C., basement suite, six days after he arrived in Canada from India.Kaur, 41, who had been married to Singh for more than 20 years, was found with multiple stab wounds on March 15, 2024. Singh admitted he caused the fatal injuries but denied murder, arguing he should be found guilty of manslaughter because he acted “in the heat of passion caused by sudden provocation.”Singh told the court the couple had argued and the confrontation became physical. He claimed Kaur swung a knife at him first and said he tried to disarm her.He testified he “accidentally poked her with the knife in her stomach” and said he had no memory of what happened after.B.C. Supreme Court Justice Andrea Ormiston rejected his account, finding Singh’s evidence “untrustworthy and unreliable” and insufficient to raise reasonable doubt about whether he intended to kill Kaur.
“I have found Mr. Singh’s evidence about what transpired between him and Ms. Kaur in the time leading up to her death to be entirely unreliable, particularly on critical points such as the nature of the conflict between them before Ms. Kaur was stabbed, and Mr. Singh’s ensuing memory loss,” Ormiston wrote in her decision.An autopsy found Kaur died from major blood loss caused by seven stab wounds to her neck and chest.Court heard Singh arrived in Canada on March 9, 2024. Kaur had moved to Canada in 2022 to help their daughter, who had come to the country for university.“Ms. Kaur is the one who submitted the paperwork to request Mr. Singh’s visa,” according to the decision. “He was staying with Ms. Kaur in her basement suite in Abbotsford.”
On the night of the killing, Singh and Kaur went to a gurdwara and then a mall before taking an Uber home at about 9:30 p.m. Prosecutors estimated Kaur was stabbed within an hour of their return to the Wagner Drive basement suite.
A neighbour went to the suite at 10:38 p.m. and found Kaur motionless in a pool of blood. Singh and Kaur were the only people inside when police arrived. Officers arrested Singh at the scene.
Ormiston also heard evidence Kaur had made statements before her death indicating she was “afraid of Mr. Singh arriving and that she did not want him to come to Canada,” according to the decision.“When the evidence at trial is considered in its totality, Mr. Singh’s evidence is incapable of raising any reasonable doubt about murderous intent, about Ms. Kaur provoking Mr. Singh in the way he described, or about such provocation causing him to suddenly experience an overwhelming loss of control that is legally excusable,” the decision said.A sentencing date has not been scheduled. The B.C. Prosecution Service said Singh’s next court appearance is set for Oct. 19 to confirm completion of his psychiatric assessment.