A three-judge panel in southwestern Ohio sentenced a man to death Tuesday in a second trial for the murder of his wife and three in-laws back in 2019, multiple outlets reported.
The Butler County Common Pleas Court judges unanimously sentenced Gurpreet Singh, 41, to death after a two-hour deliberation, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Tuesday. They reportedly convicted Singh on four counts of aggravated murder of his wife, Shalinderjit Kaur, 39, and three in-laws.
His victims were Shalinderjit Kaur and her 59-year father Hakiakat Singh Pannag, 62-year-old mother Parmjit Kaur, and 58-year-old aunt Amarjit Kaur, the outlet reported. Singh fatally shot the three in the head 16 times in total with no defensive wounds, Hamilton County Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Karen Looman said, according to the outlet. They were reportedly killed April 28, 2019.
BREAKING: Judges sentence Gurpreet Singh to death after he was found guilty in West Chester quadruple murder trial https://t.co/4yFVeOJ9i5 pic.twitter.com/oBFV6Oz8mH
— WLWT (@WLWT) May 14, 2024
The court listened to Singh’s 9-1-1 call regarding the shootings, as partly aired by WKRC Local 12.
Singh’s former mistress, 37-year-old Navkiran Kaur told the court through an interpreter that she and Singh met while she was in an abusive marriage, according to WKRC Local 12. She and Singh began a sexual relationship following her divorce, she reportedly told the court. Singh provided Kaur with a $20,000 down payment for a house and bought her a luxury SUV, she added, according to the outlet. She, however, had reportedly not spoken with Singh since the night of the murders and has since remarried. (RELATED: Police Say Man Killed Wife, Three Sons In Apparent Murder-Suicide)
Prosecutors alleged that the relationship between Singh and Kaur, a rift between Singh and his father-in-law Hakiakat over the latter’s financial demands and Singh’s eventual financial decline motivated Singh to shoot the four individuals dead, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. They also reportedly argued that Singh lied to the police regarding his relationship with Kaur and that there was evidence Singh was at the residence nearly 30 minutes before he called 9-1-1.
Singh’s attorneys, on the other hand, argued that he witnessed the murders but said an unknown gunman committed the crimes, the outlet reported. There was an ongoing land dispute in India that could have led to the murders, they added, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Gunshot residue was reportedly present on Singh’s hand, according to a sample obtained by law enforcement. This did not necessarily mean Singh pulled the trigger, case testimony said, the outlet reported.
On the night of the murders, Singh was captured on surveillance cameras buying seven gallons of fuel into his car, WKRC Local 12 noted.
Police officers in Branford, Connecticut, arrested Singh in a Walmart parking lot on July 2, 2019, following a tip from West Chester police that Singh was staying at a residence in Branford, according to the Branford Police Department. The Cincinnati-based outlet WCPO 9 News aired dashcam video footage of the arrest.
Investigators found a gun in a pond near the West Chester crime scene, with its serial number removed, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Singh, Indian-born, an independent truck driver and father of three, became a U.S. citizen in 2009, WCPO 9 News reported.
Jurors could not agree on a verdict during Singh’s first trial in Oct. 2022, the Journal-News reported.