Shock as son remanded after murders
SHANVIR Singh was an “intelligent, well mannered person” who, family say, would have done anything to make his parents happy.
But when the 21-year-old unemployed man stood in the dock of the Verulam Magistrate’s Court last Wednesday, it was for an unspeakable crime that not only left them shattered and dumbfounded, but also sent shock waves through his community.
Singh, an only child, appeared in court in connection with the murder of his parents, Prakash and Shoba Singh. The couple were hacked to death in their modest Phoenix home, where their bodies were left to decompose for a week before they were found last week.
Singh had allegedly lived with the bodies until a concerned relative came to find out why the couple were unreachable by phone.
“He was the only child for his parents. He loved his parents dearly and would have done anything to make them happy,” a relative, Melanie Singh, posted on Facebook along with a copy of the POST article breaking the story.
“As a family member it breaks my heart to see what has happened to this family. For a while we have noticed changes in Shanvir’s behaviour, he became really quiet and reserved. His parents noticed him acting different at home,” she posted.
She further stated that he never really cared about eating and he used to wake up in the early morning and just gaze at the sky for hours.
While there’s no evidence presented yet that drugs may have been a factor behind the gruesome double murder, Melanie posted that despite appeals that Singh be put in rehab, his parents had held back.
“But Mama and Marmie being the loving parents they are, were always in denial. They always hoped he would somehow change,” she wrote.
“May Mama and Shoba Marmie’s souls rest in peace they were such wonderful people and will be missed by all of us.
“To all the parents out there, if you detect your child is exposed to drugs and they’re changing please act quick and get help. There are labs that do drug tests, have them tested. Its just so sad what drugs is actually doing to our community.”
At their funeral service on Thursday, Prakash, 56, a former police reservist who was bedridden after suffering a stroke, and Shoba, 50, were described as loving, kindhearted and respectful. Shoba’s brother, Rajen Harripersad, who went to the home last Monday and made the gruesome discovery, declined to comment on the incident, saying the incident had left him traumatised and he has been unable to eat or sleep.
Singh was remanded into police custody.