NRI Devinder Singh convicted for murder in death of his 3 1/2-year-old niece

Toronto, June 20, 2008
J. Gill-Windsor/Tarlochan Grewal-Toronto

On Friday, NRI Devinder Singh, 40, of Rockrose Dr, Brampton (Toronto) was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his 3 1/2-year-old niece, Rashmeet Oshan, on June 21, 2005.

Devinder Singh told police:

• Rashmeet died when she accidentally fell head first into an inflatable wading pool in his backyard and her face down in a pool

The court heard:

• Devinder carried his niece's body to a neighbor's home to call 911 and told emergency workers he had pulled her out of a small, inflatable pool behind his home
• Kuldeep Sanghera, a neighbor testified that Rashmeet's body was dry at the time
• An autopsy revealed she died of internal bleeding from a severed aorta
• A medical expert testified:
  • The force required to break the girl's spine and tear her aorta was equal to a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle traveling 65 kilometers per hour.
  • It also said that Rashmeet would have died within minutes after being injured, but likely suffered considerable pain before losing consciousness.
  • Her spine had been broken twice, with her first injury occurring several weeks or more before it was fractured again, resulting in her death.
• Stephen Laufer, Crown prosecutor told jurors that Devinder Singh had bent his niece backwards over his knee or the arm of a chair. This was no childhood accident. This was a rare, catastrophic injury that took significant force. This was not a fall from a swing.

Rashmeet's mother Ravinder Oshan said:

• Devinder Singh had a history of being physically abusive towards her daughter
• One time, Rashmeet was not stop crying, Devinder dragged her down stairs of his home and kicking her back
• In 2003, I moved with my sister and her husband Devinder when I made my mind not to go to India with my husband who decided to settle there.

Devinder's lawyer, Michael Caroline, told jurors that Ravinder Oshan's statement is a "monstrous lie"

The jury:

Interestingly, Devinder Singh did not take stand to clear his position in front of the jury. The jurors just watched a video interview with the police that he was saying- Rashmeet was his daughter and denied hurting her. The jury took only three hours to deliberate the decision after months meetings

On July 4, Justice David Corbett will decide Devinder Singh's parole eligibility between 10 and 25 years. Devinder may get a life prison sentence.