Man killed wife then set himself alight at home

THE boss of a Birmingham minimarket killed his wife before setting himself alight in a murder-suicide, an inquest was told.

Sewa Singh Badial, 87, who ran the Badial Department store in Soho Road, Handsworth, repeatedly struck his wife Sukhjit, 73, with a machete in the living room of their home in their Coventry home.

He then went into the garden and sat in an outdoor fire pit. Mr Badial, who was wearing his blood-stained clothes, was filmed on CCTV pouring liquid onto himself before igniting it. Their bodies were found on June 29, 2021. An inquest held into their deaths at Coventry Coroner’s Court heard that on a chair in the living room was a farewell note written by the deceased describing an argument with his wife.

Delroy Henry, area coroner for Coventry and Warwickshire, concluded Mr Badial had committed suicide while his wife had been unlawfully killed. In the recording of the hearing, Mrs Badial said the deceased had ‘suffered a number of chop wounds to her upper body and limbs which were described as defensive actions to ward off a bladed implement’.

A large billhook (a garden machete), was found by her body, along with a wrench, which was also used to hit her across the face, the inquest was told.

Mrs Badial died of head and facial injuries while her husband’s cause of death was from the effects of fire, the coroner said.

Hundreds of people took to social media to express their sadness when news broke of their deaths and offer their condolences and prayers for the couple. The couple had four children and seven grandchildren. A statement from their family said they were “keen supporters of good causes and committed members of the local Midlands community.”