Court rejects accused’s claim that fatal stabbing was accidental
An Indian-origin man has been convicted of second-degree murder in Canada after a court found him guilty of fatally stabbing his wife just six days after joining her in the country, rejecting his claim that the killing was accidental.
The British Columbia Supreme Court found 53-year-old Jagpreet Singh guilty of murdering his wife, 41-year-old Balwinder Kaur, at their basement home in Abbotsford in March 2024. The couple had been married for around two decades and had two children. Kaur had moved to Canada earlier, while Singh travelled later on a visitor visa after she sponsored his application.
According to court evidence, police responded to reports of a stabbing on 15 March 2024 and found Kaur critically injured inside the house. She was taken to hospital but later died from multiple stab wounds to her neck and upper body. Investigators recovered a broken steak knife from the scene.
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During the trial, Singh admitted causing the fatal injuries but argued that he had acted during a heated confrontation after his wife allegedly threatened him with a knife
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He maintained that he had only accidentally “poked” her while trying to disarm her and claimed he had little recollection of what followed
The court rejected that defence. Justice Andrea Ormiston ruled that Singh’s account of the incident was “untrustworthy and unreliable”, particularly regarding the events leading to the stabbing and his claimed memory loss. The judge concluded that the evidence did not support his version of events.
Evidence presented during the proceedings also showed there had been minimal communication between the couple in the weeks before Singh travelled to Canada. Witness testimony indicated that Kaur had expressed concerns about her husband’s arrival and had told friends she feared him.
Singh was formally charged with second-degree murder in 2024 after pleading not guilty. He is expected to be sentenced after psychological assessments are completed, with sentencing scheduled for later this year.
