Victim’s 3 children now face a life without the support of their parents.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Two Canadians of Indian origin have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to the slaying of an Indian woman back in January, in what was Ottawa’s first homicide of 2014.
Last week, police apprehended and charged 34 year-old Gurpreet Ronald for allegedly killing Jagtar Gill. Earlier today, Ottawa Police announced that they had also arrested Bhupinderpal Gill, 38, and have also charged him with first-degree murder for the same crime. Bhupinderpal is the husband of the departed.
Gill, 43, was found dead in her home on January 29, one day after she had received a hernia operation. Her husband and 15 year-old daughter found her, on the day of her 17th wedding anniversary. Ronald was a neighbor of the Gills, and lived just a stone’s throw away from their residence. A blood-stained metal bar was found in the woods near the Gill house, which police believe may have been the murder weapon.
Police were able to identify Ronald through DNA taken from the crime scene, which allegedly matched hers. According to CBC News, police obtained Ronald’s DNA surreptitiously, and then asked her to voluntarily provide some. The match led to her arrest last Thursday.
Now, the arrest of Gill’s husband has lent credibility to reports that she was killed as a result of an affair between Bhupinderpal and Ronald. While police have not confirmed anything, local reports from Ottawa have stated that the two under arrest were close, and that Gill’s death may have been a result of her discovering the affair and wanting to put an end to it.
Ronald’s history is especially checkered. She emigrated from India 10 years ago, and was arranged to marry a certain man, but ended up breaking that relationship in order to marry a Caucasian named Jason Ronald. According to local residents who spoke to the Toronto Sun, the Ronalds were reasonably friendly with neighbors in the relatively new neighborhood, but didn’t do a whole lot of socializing.
An Ottawa City Transpo driver, Bhupinderpal’s arrest now leaves the fate of the couple’s three children – whose ages are 8, 10, and 15 – in a temporary state of limbo. He and Ronald are both set to appear in court on Wednesday, and will likely go to trial in what is now being considered a very targeted killing. First-degree murder carries the possibility of life imprisonment, and eligibility for parole only after 25 years.