Wolverhampton wife murder suspect Gurpreet Singh: I deserve justice

Gurpreet Singh, 44, said he had suffered “mentally, physically and financially” since being charged following the discovery in February last year of Sarbjit Kaur’s body in the sewing workshop of their detached Wolverhampton home.

He was subsequently accused of recruiting an employee five years earlier to kill Amandeep Kaur, his first wife, so that he could marry again.

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Asked by Mr David Mason, QC, prosecuting, whether he wanted justice for himself or his wife, Singh said: “For myself and my wife. I’m behind bars and I’ve been finished by you guys, the investigation team and the police.

"I need justice as well, justice for me. I pay my taxes, half a million pounds a year. I employ directly or indirectly 50 to 60 people – they’re all finished, my business is gone, my reputation has gone.”

After Singh tearfully asked for a moment to compose himself, Mr Mason said: “You seem more concerned for yourself and your business than you are for your wife.”

The family home in Rookery Lane, Penn, appeared to have been ransacked when Singh arrived home to find 38-year-old Sarbjit dead, although valuable items such as computers, phones, cash and jewellery were left untouched, the court heard.

He is alleged to have let in an accomplice, thought to be a woman, that morning to help him carry out the murder and to mess up the house afterwards.

The defendant was asked about scratch marks on his hand which a skin expert told Birmingham Crown Court were most likely caused by nails. Singh said they were caused by gathering up timber in his yard.

But Mr Mason said: “That’s utter rubbish. The scratch marks on the back of your hand were made by your wife as she was desperately trying to pull your hands off her throat as she was being strangled.”

Singh, of Coalway Avenue, Penn, denies the murder of Sarbjit Kaur and soliciting the murder between July 11 and December 2, 2013 of Amandeep Kaur, the mother of his two children.

The trial continues.