A MAN in Wolverhampton, who pretended his wife had been killed in a burglary, has been found guilty of her murder and would serve at least 19 years in prison.
Gurpreet Singh, 45, was convicted of murder of Sarbjit Kaur, 38, following a retrial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Kaur was found at her house in Rookery Lane, Wolverhampton, on 16 February 2018.
Officers were called to the address by Singh who told officers he had found his 38-year-old wife unconscious in their home. A post-mortem examination revealed she had died of asphyxiation.
According to the West Midlands Police, the house initially looked as if it had been burgled, and Singh was showing signs of shock and horror.
Kaur's face and body were sprinkled with a form of chilli powder, which was used to incapacitate her or give the impression she had been attacked, the police said.
The Police said Singh allowed his children to enter their house and find Sarbjit, their stepmother, who worked from home as a seamstress, dead on the floor.
"Singh has always maintained that the CCTV was removed because it wasn't working properly and he'd thrown away the DVR box that recorded the footage, but we will say that that was done probably not long prior to the murder being committed and to prevent their extensive camera set-up around the property recording what was going to take place that day," Supt Chris Mallett, of West Midlands Police told the BBC.
"It wasn't just the CCTV it was the fact that he had arranged for an unknown, still unknown, female third party to attend the address that day and assist him in committing the murder of Sarbjit."
Jurors were told the unidentified woman went into the home of Singh just minutes after he entered the Wolverhampton property.
According to reports, Singh's first wife, Amandeep Kaur, died in India four years before the murder, with authorities concluding she suffered a brain haemorrhage.
He had faced charges of attempting to arrange her death, but was later acquitted.
Sheikh Hasina