Police say woman was beaten before dying in fire

Oct. 12, 2004
NRI Press

Baljinderjit kaur Singh suffered a blow to the head -- presumably at the hands of her husband -- before a fire at their home killed both of them, police said Monday.

"Indications are he knocked her out and started the fire," Sterling Heights police Lt. Michael Reese said. "A gas can was found in the basement near her. We haven't found what he hit her with."

"We don't know if he deliberately set himself on fire or if it was from igniting (his wife) and the basement," said Reese, who added that's a question officials may never be able to answer.

Sunday's fire was not the first time police have been to the home on the quiet cul-de-sac in the Metropolitan Parkway-Ryan Road area. In May, Amrik Singh was arrested on a charge of domestic violence for assaulting his wife, Reese said.

The court file on the case could not be accessed Monday because the 41A District Court was closed for the Columbus Day holiday. But police said Mr. Singh had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation and anger management counseling.

In May 2002, Mr. Singh tried to commit suicide at the family's home, Reese said.

In separate lawsuits in 2000, Mr. Singh sued another motorist and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, according to the Macomb County Circuit Court Web site.

In 1997, Amrik Singh filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in Macomb County Circuit Court. That case is now a closed matter. There was no answer late Monday afternoon at the office of the attorney who represented him, Joseph Konheim.

Neighbors of the family described Amrik Singh as a friendly man who frequently tinkered on vehicles and kindly offered a helping hand whenever nearby homeowners needed it.

Baljinderjit Kaur Singh was as a nurse at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, hospital spokeswoman Colette Stimmell said.