Plea offer for 72-yr-previous girl connected to 2017 North Bay hammer slaying

Experiencing a jury trial final week, a 72-12 months-old lady joined to a Suisun City hammer murder in 2017 struck a plea deal on Wednesday, admitting she, not her partner, who was to begin with charged, committed the crime and faces 15 many years to lifestyle when she is sentenced in the coming months in Fairfield.

Official court docket information display that Surjit Kaur waived her rights, withdrew her not-guilty plea and pleaded no contest to the next-diploma murder of her daughter-in-law, Shameena Bibi, 29, who investigators imagine was fatally bludgeoned with a hammer inside of the attached garage of a Suisun City household.

By entering the no-contest plea, Kaur did not confess guilt but, primarily, stated she would supply no protection.

Remarkable Court docket Judge John B. Ellis straight away uncovered her responsible and requested her to return for sentencing at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 11 in Division 23 in the Justice Center. Kaur was represented by courtroom-appointed lawyer Leslie Prince.

On the ask for of Deputy District Legal professional Bill Ainsworth, who prosecuted the circumstance in excess of the many years, the choose dismissed a use-of-a-lethal-weapon demand against her.

Ellis also referred the subject to the Solano County Probation Department for a presentencing report and purchased a probation officer to interview Kaur in particular person. She involves a Punjabi interpreter all through court docket proceedings.

Her partner, Amarjit Singh, 67, to begin with was joined to the circumstance, but, on a movement submitted by Ainsworth, the choose dismissed the 1st-diploma murder circumstance him, and unveiled him from custody, “pending other holds,” courtroom information confirmed. Deputy Public Defender Max Fuentes represented Singh, who also expected a Punjabi translator.

Right after 5 many years, the case’s resolution came much more than two years right after Prince asked Choose John B. Ellis all through a late January 2020 continuing in the Hall of Justice in Fairfield to take into consideration a motion to dismiss all — or elements of — a June 2019 Solano County grand jury indictment of her customer.

Ellis denied Prince’s movement, stating the co-defendants at the time, “came absent with blood on them and built incriminating statements” to investigators just after the criminal offense.

The grand jury indictment also resulted in naming a 3rd suspect in the situation, Megh Singh Chouhan, 31, who was charged with being an accent just after the truth, but his case was dismissed on Jan. 8, 2020, according to courtroom information and confirmed by Ainsworth.

Immediately after the grand jury indictment, Singh was arraigned for the second time and entered a not-responsible plea to a new initially-degree murder cost.

In an earlier interview with The Reporter, Fuentes said Singh’s unique murder cost was dismissed so his shopper would not be billed with the identical offense in two individual instances. The recently filed charge in June 2019 was based mostly on the identical proof, he said.

Shortly soon after remaining questioned, Singh confessed, in accordance to Suisun Town law enforcement information. Even so, Fuentes, at a subsequent continuing read by Ellis, properly argued to suppress the confession. It is unclear why Singh confessed.