The trial for a woman accused of murdering her newborn grandson to “prevent family shame” in 2018 began on Monday, 23ABC News Bakersfield reported.
Beant Dhillon allegedly murdered her grandson, Mehar, shortly after her 15-year-old daughter gave birth on Nov. 12, 2018, 23ABC reported. Dhillon’s nephew, Bakhshinderpal Singh Mann, 23, allegedly found the teenage daughter had given birth to a boy in the bathroom at their home in Bakersfield, California.
Dhillon reportedly told police she drowned her grandson to “prevent family shame,” according to 23ABC. Dhillon asked Mann and her husband to help dig a hole in the backyard where they buried the baby with salt, according to court documents.
As she did yesterday, Beant Dhillon has sat hunched forward through the testimony, wearing headphones as she’s assisted by a Punjabi interpreter. #DhillonTrial
— KGET 17 News (@KGETnews) November 17, 2020
Dhillon pled not guilty to charges of murder, willful cruelty to a child, and assault on a child under eight years old resulting in death, 23ABC reported. (RELATED: Convicted Murderer Reportedly Captured After Nearly 5 Decades On The Run)
Dhillon’s daughter reportedly said she and Mann had a secret sexual relationship for around a year and a half before she became pregnant, KGET reported. Dhillon’s daughter said her relationship with Mann was “forced on” her initially, and that she thought she couldn’t talk to her parents because she felt like it was her fault, KGET reported.
Dhillon’s daughter reportedly told Mann when she realized she was pregnant, but kept it a secret from the rest of the family, KGET reported.
She discovered she was pregnant in June 2018 when she kept throwing up and noticed her stomach getting bigger, the daughter testified. She knew Bakhshinder was the father and told him but no one else. #DhillonTrial
— KGET 17 News (@KGETnews) November 16, 2020
Dhillon’s daughter became pregnant by Mann a second time in early 2019, KGET reported. Her father, Dhillon’s husband, reportedly has a history of abuse and became angry when he found out about the second child.
He pointed to the yard and told his daughter about her dead son, according to KGET. She reportedly had a miscarriage a month later.
Mann was charged with felony accessory to murder and his whereabouts are unknown, according to 23ABC. Immigration and Customs Enforcement identified Mann as an illegal immigrant, Enforcement and Removal Officers began looking for him after he disconnected his GPS-tracking device in February 2019.
Dhillon’s husband, Singh, was found hanging in their home in March 2019, about a week after their grandson’s body was found, 23ABC reported. His death was declared a suicide by the Kern County Coroner’s Office. Singh reportedly posted bail before he committed suicide, KGET reported.
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