Sask. man guilty of second-degree murder for killing ex-wife's cousin

Guilty verdict in Warman killing A man accused of killing his ex-wife’s cousin has been found guilty of second degree murder.

A Saskatoon man was found guilty of second-degree murder for the killing of his ex-wife’s cousin.

Ranbir Dhull was charged with first-degree murder after the body of his ex-wife’s cousin, 23-year-old Samandeep Jhinger, was found behind a rolled-up carpet underneath a shelf in the basement of a Warman home in July 2020.

A forensic pathologist testified she died of ligature strangulation with a pair of pants and a scarf wrapped around her neck and her wrists tied together with twine.

On Tuesday, Court of King’s Bench Judge Richard Danyliuk found Dhull guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder. He said he couldn’t “find a path” for first-degree murder, but he had no doubt Dhull killed the woman.

Among the evidence presented in the course of the trial was an admission by Dhull to a co-worker that he had killed Jhinger after an argument. His co-worker testified that Dhull asked for help disposing of the body. Police also found Dhull’s fingerprints on the tape that covered Jhinger’s nose and mouth.

While Danyliuk said he had no doubt Dhull committed murder, it was uncertain from the evidence if the killing was planned and deliberate.

“It is less a case that I am satisfied this killing was not planned and deliberate, as it is that the Crown cannot show it was such to the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

“The evidence I have before me, particularly the circumstantial evidence, is just as consistent with an unplanned killing as it is a planned killing.”

STRANGE TEXT MESSAGES

Jhinger was living with Dhull’s ex-wife Amandeep Kaur in Warman at the time of her death. Kaur and Dhull were separated, but Dhull had access to the house in order to visit the kids.

Kaur testified that Jhinger was scheduled to fly to Winnipeg the day after her death. Kaur was working a night shift at 7-11 and the two were texting, she said. Around 4:30 a.m., she said the text messages became strange and were inflected with Hindi, which would have been unusual for Jhinger.

The texts indicated her flight was early, and she had to leave right away, according to court records. When Kaur expressed frustration that her two children would be left home alone, a reply came from Jhinger’s phone that Dhull was there.

“Very funny,” Kaur texted back.

“Her testimony was that (as Jhinger knew) Ranbir was not visiting the children or supporting them financially. A minute later, Kaur texted words meaning that Ranbir would come at her death or funeral,” Danyliuk’s written decision said.

As the text messages continued, Kaur was told Jhinger was actually going to Winnipeg by car. Kaur called Dhull to see if her cousin was with him, and he said no.

The following day, when she didn’t show up in Winnipeg, her family called the police.

A quick search of the home by RCMP on July 2, 2020, turned up nothing.

After receiving word from Saskatoon police that Dhull had told a coworker he killed Jhinger and hid her body in the basement of the Warman home, they searched again.

On July 3, 2020, RCMP found Jhinger’s body.

Dhull will receive his sentence on June 8.

-With files from Keenan Sorokan