Balvir Singh allegedly strangled his wife to death. By Deepak Chitnis WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian-origin man in Fremont, California has been arrested under allegations that he strangled his wife to death over the weekend.
Balvir Singh (42) was taken into custody by local police, under suspicion that he killed his wife, Anita Sidhu (39), on Sunday. Police say that Sidhu’s body was discovered within the couple’s home around10:00 AM, when a male relative saw that her car was still in the house’s driveway. The police were then called, at which point a manhunt began for Singh, who had gone on the lam. Singh had apparently taken his passport before running. Police were able to track Singh to Milpitas, where he was eventually captured Sunday evening at around 5:00 PM. Singh is currently being held on $1 million bail, and was arraigned on Tuesday in Alameda Country Superior Court. The Bay City News Service reports that Singh did confess to murdering his wife, and that evidence – both physical and digital, along with witness statement – links him to the killing. A motive for the killing has not yet been found or announced, nor has an exact time of death. At this point, police and coroners have only said that Sidhu died at some point between Saturday and Sunday. Although evidence of strangulation was found on Sidhu’s body, the coroner’s office has not officially announced the cause of death. Singh will now likely enter a guilty plea, which will mitigate his eventual sentence to some extent. If charged with first-degree murder, California law dictates that he could spend 25 years to life behind bars.