Singh is accused of killing his wife, Shalinderjit Kaur, 39; his in-laws, Hakikat Singh Pannag, 59, and Parmjit Kaur, 62; and his aunt by marriage, Amarjit Kaur, 58, at their residence on Wyndtree Drive. All died of gunshot wounds.
In November, after two lengthy hearings held months apart due to pandemic delays, Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Howard denied the defense’s motion to suppress statements made by Singh to West Chester Twp. Police.
The hearing began back on March 6 with a day-long court session. After two postponements the spring hearing continued in August.
Singh’s trial, originally scheduled for September 2019, has been rescheduled for May 3, 2021, but that date could change, according to court documents filed late last month.
Howard has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 13 to discuss the case’s status and determine if other schedule changes are needed because of the pandemic.
The suppression hearing showed some evidence for the first time that may be presented at trial, including statements from Singh minutes after calling 911 to report the finding his family dead.
At the March hearing, a police body camera video was played showing Singh from the moments after he called 911. Singh is seen wearing a red shirt, jeans and socks. As officers move toward him, blood is visible on his hands, shirt, pants and socks. He cries and says, “please help them.”
The August hearing focused on Singh’s questioning for several hours afterward.
During questioning by Detective Randy Farris, Singh said he spent the day at the apartment and didn’t leave until the afternoon because his back was hurting. Others, including his in-laws and children, left to shop, work and go to church, he said.
Later in the day, Singh, a truck driver, said he went to where his semi was parked. When he returned home, the door to the apartment was open and his family was dead, he said.
“When I saw my mom I thought she fell on the ground and hit her head,” Singh told the detective.
He referred to his in-laws as mom and dad.
After a couple of hours of questioning, Farris told Singh that his family had been shot and requested to conduct a test on his hands for the presence of gunshot residue. Singh told the detective he did own a gun and had not shot it in years.
Singh became upset when asked to take the gunshot residue test stating and said, “I want to go home right now.” He got up, but the detective told him to sit down and read him his Miranda rights.
When Singh said he wanted a lawyer, detectives didn’t ask additional questions but told Singh he was being detained until they could get a search warrant to swab his hands.
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