Murderer jailed for burying former girlfriend alive
An Adelaide man who abducted his former girlfriend and bound her with tape and cable ties before burying her alive in an act of revenge has been jailed for 22 years.
Jasmeen Kaur. Photo supplied.
Tarikjot Singh pleaded guilty to the murder of 21-year-old nursing student Jasmeen Kaur.
In sentencing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Adam Kimber described the killing as horrific and callous in the extreme.
He said Singh had acted out of a desire to punish Kaur for rejecting him.
“I am unable to find words to adequately describe how Ms Kaur must have felt when you placed her in the grave and buried her,” Kimber said.
“I cannot describe the terror Ms Kaur must have been experiencing when she realised you were burying her alive.”
Singh had abducted Ms Kaur from her workplace in March 2021, about two months after she had ended their relationship.
In February, police had issued Singh with a caution for stalking her.
In his planning, the 23-year-old bought tape, cable ties, gloves and a shovel, borrowed a friend’s car and swapped out his phone’s sim card.
Kaur’s body was recovered from a shallow grave at Moralana Creek in SA’s mid-north.
She was found with her hands bound behind her back with a cable tie, and with her feet taped and cable-tied together.
She had also inhaled and swallowed soil, the court was told during sentencing submissions.
Singh had been due to stand trial this year but pleaded guilty at his arraignment in February.
He was jailed for life with Justice Kimber setting a non-parole period of 22 years and 10 months.
After Singh was sentenced, Kaur’s family issued a statement through SA Police.
“Today I do not feel happy. I wish that I was not giving this statement and that Jasmeen was still here by my side,” it said.
“I talk to her every day, we say goodnight to our children, don’t we? So, I always say goodnight to my daughter.
“Justice has prevailed and I cannot begin to express our relief. We welcome the sentence given but what I can say is that my family and I have already started our life sentence having to spend the rest of our lives without Jasmeen.
“On behalf of my family, I would like to thank the justice system of Australia, police members and media for supporting us and Jasmeen. It was a tough journey, but you all made it easy for us. Thank you so much. Regards, Rashpal Kaur.”
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-with AAP
