BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Bakersfield man who was serving a life sentence in prison for killing his daughter-in-law in a self-described “honor killing” has died, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Jagjit Singh, 71, died Feb. 18, officials said.
17 News has reached out to Solano County coroner’s office for more information, including cause of death.
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Singh shot Sumandeep Kaur Kooner, 37, following an argument the morning of Aug. 26, 2019.
When police arrived, Singh said he either had to kill himself or Kooner due to her “dishonoring of him,” according to court documents.
His attorney, David A. Torres, argued at trial the killing occurred in the heat of the moment and asked the jury for an acquittal on the murder charge, and to find Singh guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead.
Jurors in 2022 convicted Singh of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to 35 years to life.
According to Torres and co-counsel Navraj S. Rai, Singh tried to counsel Kooner after overhearing a phone call in which she talked about leaving the family.
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Singh, his wife, Kooner, her husband and their children lived together in a house on Monache Meadows Drive.
As they argued, Kooner told Singh to mind his own business and said, “I’ll pull off your beard and shove it up your (expletive),” Torres said. She also threatened to call police and file a false report saying Singh sexually assaulted her, the attorney said.
Singh grabbed a revolver and shot Kooner three times.
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