Domestic violence cases continue to take tragic toll across Calgary

Redstone man facing second-degree murder charge in the death of his wife

A 22-year-old man has been charged with the death of his wife in Calgary's Redstone community, in what investigators believe was a case of domestic violence.

Maninderpreet Singh is charged with the second-degree murder of Manpreet Kaur, 25. Singh was initially taken into custody and released without charge.

On April 21, police responded to reports of Kaur in medical distress at her home. Kaur was declared dead at the scene.

Andrea Silverstone, CEO of Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society, said that when she first became aware of the story, she was instantly concerned that it was a domestic violence homicide.

“Women are most often killed by their intimate partners, and the most dangerous place for a woman, unfortunately, is actually in her own home.

“Often, when a femicide occurs, the person responsible is their intimate partner or someone with whom they're in some sort of relationship that is characterized by dependency and trust.”

A Gofundme page set up for Kaur suggests she arrived in Canada as an international student in 2022, and that the funds raised will be used to send her body back to her parents in India. As of Wednesday afternoon, the campaign had raised more than $3,000 of its $20,000 goal.

“Every time we see a woman being murdered, I think it's really important to put a lens on where we understand what the most dangerous places for women are and what femicide is,” Silverstone said. “The fact that we probably don't talk about it enough, the fact that it's probably not properly measured to truly understand the rate of occurrences.”

According to the Calgary Police Service, the domestic violence incident count for 2023 was 4,070 and 927 for the first quarter of 2024. These include partner-based offences as well as family domestic violence.

“We can't look at femicide as these isolated incidences; we actually have to look at it as a pattern and trend in society, and see what we need to do from a prevention standpoint to stop this from happening.”

Silverstone said domestic violence rates went up by 30 per cent during the pandemic and haven't declined since. She believes multiple factors are at play, including mental health, financial issues, housing and family dynamics.

“Because things are getting more and more complex, it means that it's harder and harder for us as a social service agency to meet the needs of individuals, and it also means that there's more and more barriers for individuals reaching out for support.”

Silverstone said domestic abuse is under-reported. Statistics Canada found that only 20 per cent of people who experience domestic violence report it to the police and only 35 per cent seek help.

“So that means that 65 per cent of people who are experiencing domestic abuse aren't ever actually reaching out to any service for any support whatsoever, because they're too embarrassed, too ashamed, (or) can't even identify what's going on for them as domestic abuse,” Silverstone said.

“And especially for immigrant communities, those rates of not accessing services and telling friends and family are even higher.”

Singh is due in court May 14.

BRENT CALVER A police officer steps outside of a home in the 100 block of Redstone Common N.E. in Calgary, where the suspicious death of a woman was reported on Sunday. The victim's husband has since been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death.