Kaur said she met Singh in 2011 through her ex-husband who, like Singh, was a semi-truck driver. She and Singh were friendly and eventually they began a romantic sexual relationship. She said she knew Singh was married and had met his wife and children.
When Kaur began divorce proceedings, she turned to Singh for help and he translated court documents. In 2018, Kaur said Singh gave her $20,000 to secure a house in her own name. Singh then bought a house in the same neighborhood.
Singh also gave Kaur an Audi SUV to drive. Jurors were shown photos of Kaur posing with the white vehicle on the street in a neighborhood lined with upscale brick homes.
Kaur said she communicated with Singh through WhatsApp and they met each other about once a week.
A download of Singh’s cell phone by a forensic specialist showed there were 183 calls or messages between the two between December 2018 and April 28, 2019.
After her divorce, Kaur said Singh asked her if she would marry him if he was single.
On the day of the homicides, Singh’s cell phone data indicates Kaur messaged him multiple times before and after the family was found dead. He did not answer any of her messages.
During cross examination, Kaur agreed with defense attorney Charlie Rittgers that Singh was never violent and was kind. She said since the arrest, she has had no communication with Singh.
Sgt. Walt Schneider of the Miami University Police Department, forensic specialist in retrieving digital media, testified about the data he was able to retrieve from Singh’s phone that included messages from Kaur and photos.
Some of those images show Singh with his children, of his truck, and divorce papers between his mistress and her husband.
Singh, 40, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder for allegedly shooting and killing his wife Shalinderjit Kaur, 39; his in-laws, Hakikat Singh Pannag, 59, and Parmjit Kaur, 62; and his aunt-in-law, Amarjit Kaur, 58, at the Wyndtree Drive residence on April 28, 2019.
Prosecutors say Singh murdered his family by shooting them all in the head after a longtime affair and a strained relationship with his in-laws over land money from land owned in India.
The defense says Singh is innocent and the killings were part of a professional hit due to Pannag’s financial woes and a dubious land contract deal in India with the “land mafia.” They say three masked men broke into the apartment with baseball bats and Singh ran for his life. When he returned, everyone was dead.
Friday was the end of the second week of trial. It is expected to last another week in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
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