Defense, prosecution rest in murder trial of man, 67, accused of killing daughter-in-law

Diljot Kaur Kooner began noticing differences in her mom in 2019, she testified Friday at the murder trial for her grandfather, who’s accused of fatally shooting Diljot’s mother over accusations of disrespect.

Diljot saw her parents fighting almost every single day, and her mother, Sumandeep Kaur Kooner, 37, locked herself in their room and talked on the phone for hours. Sumandeep disrespected her father-in-law, Jagjit Singh, 67, Diljot testified in Kern County Superior Court while crying.

Singh is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his daughter-in-law Kaur Kooner in August 2019. The defense called three witnesses and rested its case Friday, with Deputy District Attorney Kara Thompson calling no rebuttal witnesses. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday.

According to Bakersfield Police Department reports filed in Kern County Superior Court, Singh overheard his daughter-in-law talking about leaving her family and marrying another man, and began pleading with her to stay on Aug. 26, 2019. Kaur Kooner told him to mind his own business, and said, “I am going to rip off your beard and stick it up your (expletive).”

This offensive remark caused Singh to become emotionally distraught, and he shot Kaur Kooner three times, said defense attorney David Torres, who is seeking a voluntary manslaughter verdict.

On Friday, Torres called witnesses to testify about Singh’s mindset.

Harinder Bhullar, a close friend of Singh, said during Torres’ direct examination he was “shocked” but could not imagine his friend committing murder. Bhullar testified during cross-examination that his opinion of Singh had not changed after he’d heard about what Singh is

accused of doing.

Bhullar said he visited Singh in jail, and that Singh told him God has sent him to jail so he can pray some more, despite praying his entire life.

“He’s been so peaceful,” Bhullar said. “He regrets it, but he’s still so much at peace.”

Torres also called Dr. Laljit Singh, a clinical psychologist who has experience working with the criminal and offender populations. He testified as an expert in Punjabi and Sikh culture.

Laljit Singh testified that Punjabis and Sikhs originate from Punjab, a state in northern India. Rigid hierarchies and gender norms dictate the culture, with the men and elders receiving the most respect and women typically being more subservient. He added Punjabis and Sikhs are not a monolith, and people’s adherence to Sikhism can vary.

Laljit Singh also testified to the five symbols a traditional Sikh adorns, and that never cutting one’s hair is “deeply inculcated” into the culture. Even threats to cut the beard without actually cutting the hair can be offensive, he added.

“Cutting off the beard and hair is an act of sacrilege,” Laljit Singh said.

Laljit Singh said Westerns tend to misinterpret an honor killing, though honor killings happen in Indian culture. Honor in Indian culture exists to ensure reputations and status remain pure. There are two types of honor killings: The first exists for revenge, or avenging an insult hurled at a family member; the second type, which is more common in Indian culture, seeks to cleanse any harm to the reputation of a family so that the reputation and status stay intact, Laljit Singh said.

However, to restore the reputation of a family, Laljit Singh said, the disciplinary actions could begin smaller, such as disowning a child before a series of violent steps is taken to reprimand the offender, he said. Therefore, honor killings are a planned act, Laljit Singh testified.

During cross-examination, Deputy District Attorney Kara Thompson asked if killing is inconsistent with being a Sikh, to which Laljit Singh said yes.

Furthermore, killing is not accepted in the Punjabi population of Bakersfield, nor is killing an unarmed person, Laljit Singh testified in response to Thompson’s questions.

Laljit Singh testified he “was shocked” when he heard about Kaur Kooner’s alleged threats to her father-in-law even though he doesn’t consider himself a traditional Sikh. Thompson objected to this answer and Judge John W. Lua allowed the statement to be stricken from the record.