Killer Finally Caught

[yubacitysingh]

VANCOUVER - After more than a decade on the run, Vancouver police announced Tuesday they have arrested the man wanted for the 1999 murder of 18-year-old Poonam Randhawa.

Ninderjit Singh, 33, was arrested by U.S. authorities Aug. 19 in Riverside County, Calif., where he was working as a long-haul truck driver.

Randhawa, an honour-roll high school student, was shot dead in Vancouver on Jan. 26, 1999, just two days after her birthday.

Police said Tuesday that Singh had a history of stalking Randhawa prior to her murder.

Following her murder, he fled the country.

“Today I get to make an announcement from this podium and I can’t remember when any announcement has ever given me this much pleasure,” Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke said.

“We got him.”

It was reported on the day of her murder, Randhawa left her school during lunch hour and was sitting in her vehicle with friends at a stop sign when Singh rapped on her window and asked to speak to her privately.

She reportedly asked her friends to drive her vehicle back to the school so that she could give Singh a final warning to leave her alone.

She then climbed into the back seat of his vehicle, with his friend at the wheel.

Her body was later discovered in an alley.

Police issued a warrant for Singh’s arrest three days later, but they then learned he had already jumped on a plane bound for Los Angeles, Calif., where he had family.

“(Poonam’s) murder would launch one of the longest police hunts in the VPD’s history,” Lemcke said.

Singh was featured on the TV show America's Most Wanted, but escaped capture on at least one occasion.

Then some light was finally shed on the case several weeks ago.

“VPD investigators became aware of a name that Ninderjit Singh possibly assumed as his false identity," Vancouver Insp. Brad Desmarais said.

They located Singh on Friday, but investigators said his appearance had changed so much it was hard to confirm his identity.

"Today, he looks nothing like the photo seen in local media reports (in 1999)," Desmarais said.

Singh had ballooned up to 300 lbs, grew a beard and occasionally wore a turban.

Using California Highway Patrol officers, investigators had Singh’s truck pulled over, issued him a traffic ticket, and obtained his thumbprints to verify his identity.

That same day, Singh’s identity was confirmed and he was arrested leaving his house with his wife and their two young children.

“He immediately confirmed his real identity and stated that he was aware he was wanted for murder in Canada,” Desmarais said.

Singh’s wife was interviewed and told investigators that she did not know his real name or that he was wanted for murder.

Desmarais told members of the media that Randhawa’s family is “relieved” about Singh’s arrest, but they are still “in state of grief” following their daughter’s death, which was just two years after they lost their son to illness.

Singh is currently in custody in Los Angeles awaiting extradition to Canada