The family of killer Ninderjit Singh gave him $150,000 to get false identification papers and lied to police about his whereabouts for more than 12 years, a B.C. Supreme Court judge heard Wednesday.
Crown prosecutor Sandra Cunningham told Singh鈥檚 sentencing hearing he should spend at least 17 years in jail for the execution-style murder of teen Poonam Randhawa.
Cunningham told Justice Bruce Butler that there are no mitigating factors in Singh鈥檚 favour, but many aggravating ones in brutal unprovoked Jan. 26, 1999 slaying of Randhawa, his 18-year-old girlfriend at the time.
She said Singh and Randhawa had a volatile two-year relationship while she was in high school, during which he had assaulted her, harassed her family with hang-up calls, and hid in bushes outside her 91原创 house to keep tabs on her.
Singh, then 21, shot Randhawa in the head at close range as he sat in the seat of a friend鈥檚 car after he confronted her about going out with other guys, Cunningham said.
He then hid in California for more than 12 years, married and had two daughters before being caught in a police sting in August 2011.
Cunningham said Singh鈥檚 mother in Calgary went down and visited every year while claiming to authorities that she had no idea where the fugitive was.
Singh pleaded guilty to second degree murder earlier on March 11 as his trial was set to begin.
Cunningham said the plea came 鈥渨ell after the eleventh hour.鈥�
Second degree murder carries a life sentence with a minimum parole eligibility period of 10 years.
But Cunningham said a parole eligibility term of between 17 and 20 years would be more in line with the gravity of Singh鈥檚 offence.
She laid out the intense efforts of 91原创 Police investigators who for years hunted Singh around the world and in California, where he had fled with the help of two friends hours after killing Randhawa.
In the summer of 2011, VPD officers posed as criminals in a Mr. Big undercover investigation targeting Singh鈥檚 half-brother Parmjit Soos in Calgary.
鈥淗e proudly told his new friends, who he believed were part of a well-organized group of successful criminals that his brother, who was living in California had been on America鈥檚 Most Wanted because he murdered his fiance,鈥� Cunningham said.
鈥淗e described how he had visited Ninderjit Singh in the States and how he had sent his mother down to see him every year.鈥�
And Soos 鈥渃ontinually pressed his friends to arrange an operation for his brother that would alter his fingerprints,鈥� she said.
The police played along, telling Soos they had found a surgeon in Las Vegas and giving him a cellphone that he was to use only to call his brother. Through the phone, police traced Singh鈥檚 number and address in San Jacinto, California where he was arrested.
Randhawa鈥檚 cousin Harry said outside court Wednesday that he was shocked at the details of how much Singh鈥檚 family helped the fugitive.
鈥淲e hold the family fully responsible for supporting him and helping him evade the police,鈥� Harry Randhawa said.
VPD media officer Sgt. Randy Fincham said Wednesday that he couldn鈥檛 comment in the middle of the two-day sentencing hearing about why Singh鈥檚 family has not faced charges.
Paul Aulakh, the friend who was driving Singh when he killed Randhawa, signed an immunity agreement, Cunningham said in court.
She also said that Aulakh told police he had no idea that Singh had a gun with him or planned to hurt Randhawa.
Aulakh provided police with grisly details of the final minutes of Randhawa鈥檚 life, which Cunningham presented in court.
Aulakh and Singh saw Randhawa with her friends early afternoon near 57th and Cambie. Randhawa got in the back seat of Aulakh鈥檚 car, where Singh confronted her about his belief she had been dating other guys.
鈥淣inderjit Singh then pulled a black semi-automatic handgun from the right side of his body,鈥� Cunningham said. . 鈥淣inderjit Singh leaned over the seat and pointed the gun close to Poonam Randhawa鈥檚 head. He was half turned in his seat and had his right leg extended and braced against the floor boards of the vehicle. He was half standing up. As he was pulling up the gun he said: `Tell me the truth or I am going to shoot you.鈥欌��
鈥淧oonam Randhawa said: `I am not scared of you. Go ahead and shoot me.鈥� Paul Aulakh never turned around or looked back. He didn鈥檛 know what to do and didn鈥檛 know what was going on. It was broad daylight. There were pedestrians in the area. He worried they would see the gun,鈥� Cunningham said, adding that Aulakh started to drive forward.
鈥淎s he moved his car ahead, he heard one bang. He heard the window behind him shatter and everything went quiet. He stopped the car . . . ..He could hear the air coming through the broken rear driver鈥檚 side window. He could smell blood in the car. He looked in his rear view mirror but couldn鈥檛 see Poonam.鈥�
The pair dumped her body in an alley where she was found hours later.
鈥淣inderjit Singh never panicked at all. He was calm after the shooting. He never went into the back seat or touched Poonam Randhawa after he shot her,鈥� Cunningham said. 鈥淗e never checked to see if she was still alive. He had the gun in his hand. 鈥�
The sentencing hearing continues.
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