Man admits to slaying wife at Surrey newspaper office
Thursday, June 13, 2013 Surrey/North Delta Leader 5
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Manmeet Singh killed Ravinder Kaur Bhangu in 2011 by Sheila Reynolds ManMeet Singh
couldn’t tolerate being rejected by his wife, so he killed her. The 28-year-old Surrey man, who attacked his wife with a hatchet during a brazen and brutal daylight slaying in Surrey two years ago, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Monday (June 10). Singh murdered 24-year-old Ravinder Kaur Bhangu on July 28, 2011. The court heard that just before noon, Singh walked into the Sash Di Awaaz Newspaper office, where Bhangu worked, with three weapons: two knives and a hatchet. He approached Bhangu and struck her in the head at least twice with the hatchet, cracking her skull. He then stabbed her repeatedly in her torso and limbs, causing injuries to multiple internal organs as well as her carotid artery in her neck. Singh told the five other staff members at the newspaper office that Bhangu had been unfaithful to him. He said someone should call 911, telling the operator “I killed my wife,” and stood beside Bhangu’s body with a knife until
LEADER FILE PHOTO
Manmeet Singh murdered his wife Ravinder Kaur Bhangu because she left him, the court heard. police arrived. Singh was originally charged with first-degree murder and two assault charges related to injuries suffered by one of two men who attempted to intervene in the deadly attack. He pleaded guilty to the single, lesser charge in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on what was scheduled to be the first day of his trial. Singh, clean cut and dressed in a dark suit and tie, listened to a court interpreter who translated the proceedings from English to
Punjabi. He appeared calm throughout, looking a couple of times at the people sitting in the courtroom’s public viewing gallery. Many family members and supporters were present, including his father, a former police officer in India. Singh and Bhangu met in college in India in 2002 and married in 2008 before coming to Canada together a year later. They lived with Singh’s family in Newton. However, in the spring of 2011, Bhangu left Singh and moved in with a
family friend. Singh couldn’t cope with the rejection or the separation, the court heard. He was distraught and according to a psychiatric report, suffered moderate depression. “His wife was his world,” said defence lawyer Brij Mohan. “Everything revolved around her.” Mohan also said Singh was the product of growing up in a “misogynist culture” where women are often thought of by their husbands as property. “Nothing can justify his actions,” said Mohan, but added it would be unfair not to mention the attitudes Singh was brought up with. Singh did not apologize in court himself, but had Mohan convey his remorse. Second-degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence. In an agreed statement, both the defence and Crown lawyers asked that Singh, who has no prior criminal record, not be eligible for parole for 16 years. His parole eligibility will be decided June 21. Because Singh is not a Canadian citizen, if and when he is granted full parole, he could be deported.
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Six-year sentence for teen killer
by Sheila Reynolds
a RichMond teen was sentenced
to six years in jail Tuesday for his role in the deadly shooting of Surrey’s Kacey Rogers last year. Fabien Luther Marcus Lyde, 19, was sentenced in Surrey Provincial Court after pleading guilty to manslaughter in April. Lyde is one of three people charged in Rogers’ Feb. 26, 2012
death. Surrey’s Russell Bidesi and New Westminster’s Joshua Martinez are charged with seconddegree murder and weapons offences, but their cases have not yet gone to trial. It’s alleged Rogers, 31, was the victim of a targeted attack at his home near 140 Street and Grosvenor Road in Surrey. He was not known to police and at the time, investigators called it “a planned
home invasion turned deadly.” Lyde was credited for time already served, leaving 52 months remaining of his prison sentence. Bidesi, 22, is also charged with second-degree murder in connection with the Christmas Eve 2011 shooting death of Surrey’s Bradley McPherson. He and Martinez are scheduled for court appearances in June and July for the Rogers case.
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