Man admits killing after body found in car driven to West Bromwich police station
A man who drove to a police station with a dead body in his car has admitted killing the victim.
Sukhwinder Singh pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday.
The 41-year-old denied murdering Harish Kumar and his pleas were accepted by the prosecution who reached their decision after studying a series of psychiatric reports.
These concentrated on his state of mind both now and at the time of the death of Mr Kumar. They came to the conclusion that he was fit to plead but had been mentally disturbed when he fatally stabbed the 38-year-old victim in the chest.
Singh arrived at West Bromwich police station at the wheel of a BMW with the body of the dead man in the front passenger seat at 10.20am on August 10 last year. He parked the vehicle outside the Moor Street building before going to report the content of his car to startled staff at the front desk.
Officers rushed to confirm there was a corpse in the BMW before arresting him on suspicion of murder. An investigation was launched and the front desk was closed for a short time as the scene was cordoned off.
Police then examining CCTV and street cameras in an effort to piece together where the BMW had travelled before arriving in their car park.
Initially it was thought Mr Kumar had died 'some time' before being driven to the police station but it was later revealed he had probably been killed inside the vehicle.
This was revealed by senior coroner’s officer Stephen Binsley at the opening of an inquest into the death which was caused by a single stab wound. The hearing was told by Detective Constable Mark Brown that the defendant had given 'no comment' interviews when quizzed about the circumstances of the crime. It remains unclear exactly what triggered the tragedy.
Mr Kumar was a builder who lived in Rose Hill, Willenhall. He came to the UK in 2011 but his wife was in Australia with their son on a holiday visa at the time of his death.
His family said in a statement after issued after the killing: "Harish was a great, yet very humble man. He was always there to help and he will be sadly missed. We just cannot believe that we have lost him."
Singh from Macdonald Close, Tividale was remanded in custody until June 29 when full details of the case are expected to be outlined to the court before sentence is passed. He is currently detained in the Raeside Clinic in Rubery which provides assessment, treatment and rehabilitation to people with severe mental health problems who have committed or are charged with a criminal offence.
