Man appears in court for the murder of Gurjit Singh

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Gurjit Singh, who was found covered in blood and glass outside his Dunedin home last week.

The body of the 27-year-old Chorus technician was found outside his home on Hillary St, in the Dunedin suburb of Liberton, on Monday January 29.

Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, with police initially treating the death as ‘unexplained’. On Thursday, following a post-mortem on his body which revealed multiple stab wounds by a sharp instrument, police confirmed his death was a homicide investigation.

Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis said police arrested the 33-year-old man on Monday morning.

The man, wearing a gown, appeared in the Dunedin District Court before Justice of the Peace Helen Meiklejohn on Monday afternoon.

Court documents list the man’s occupation as ‘technician’.

The man was granted interim name suppression, and was remanded in custody to appear in the Dunedin High Court on February 27.

A large team of investigators have worked extensively on this case, but there is still work to do, Croudis said.

Several vehicles, another residential property and workplaces are still part of the ongoing investigation.

The hours of work put in by members of Environmental Science and Research, both at the scene and the laboratory, have been invaluable in assisting police, he said.

“We wish to thank members of the public for their information and CCTV footage provided, which has helped greatly with the investigation.”

Singh’s father is in Dunedin and is being supported by police and the Punjabi community.

“Our thoughts remain with the family at this extremely difficult time,” Croudis said.

Singh has been excited about the imminent arrival of his of wife of six months to New Zealand.

His father, Nishan Singh arrived in New Zealand on February 4, and told Stuff his entire village was in a state of shock after learning about the death of his only son.

“It’s awful. It’s just so horrific the way my son is killed.”

He had come to New Zealand to retrieve his son’s body, “so that we do last rites and pray for him”.

Police:

“Our thoughts remain with the family at this extremely difficult time,” police said.

Singh, 28, was found covered in blood and glass on Monday under initially mysterious circumstances.

Police said pathology findings revealed he died from multiple stab wounds inflicted by a sharp instrument at his Hillary St address.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said Pine Hill residents could expect an increased police presence during the investigation.

A team of 25 Dunedin-based investigators and Christchurch-based ESR scientists were looking into the death.

The investigation has included interviewing Singh’s family, friends and work colleagues to try to establish his movements before his death.

With Thanks reference to: https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350168586/man-appears-court-murder-gurjit-singh and https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/gurjit-singh-murder-in-dunedin-police-arrest-33-year-old-man/4NG6YYZQOJAPHDAR5GI7ZFIU2U/