Rajinder was on trial at the High Court in Dunedin. Photo: RNZ
A man has been found guilty of murdering Gurjit Singh in his Dunedin home.
The jury retired to consider its verdict at the High Court in Dunedin on Wednesday morning and returned on Thursday.
The 35-year-old, known only as Rajinder, killed Singh at his home in January last year.
In summing up, Justice Rachel Dunningham told the jury there was no dispute that Singh was attacked, and it was up to them to decide if Rajinder was responsible or not.
The Crown alleged he left DNA evidence at the scene and lied to police.
Rajinder's defence lawyer said he had no motive and the evidence against him was flawed.
In closing arguments on Tuesday, prosecutor Richard Smith asked the jury to apply their common sense, saying it was not "rocket science".
"His blood and hair in the scene. His hair in the victim's hands, his injury and the thumb of the glove left at the scene. Him buying a murder kit. Him saying he didn't even know where the victim lived yet here he is searching out a route to the victim's house on the night of the murder."
The victim's father, Nishan Singh, dressed in white, is seen outside court after the verdict was delivered. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
A forensic expert had testified that the blood samples taken from the murder scene were 500,000 million times more likely to be Rajinder's than a random person, he said.
Defence lawyer Anne Stevens KC said Rajinder had spoken to police in two interviews voluntarily and had consistently denied murdering Singh, describing the other man as honest and hard working.
While the numbers sounded large, DNA presented a degree of likelihood, she said.
"The numbers do not make certainty, however large. Numbers go to infinity. Don't be misled by high numbers being a certainty, that high enough is good enough," she said.
During the more than two-week-long trial, the court heard of a complicated love triangle involving Singh, his widow Kamaljeet Kaur and Rajinder.
The Crown said Kaur rejected Rajinder's proposal through a marriage broker in 2022, while his lawyer said it was Kaur's family who had approached Rajinder's family twice about marrying the man and he was not upset to find out she had instead married Singh.
Singh also rejected Rajinder's plan to marry his sister, saying she was too young.
The Crown said the rejections were motive for murder, while the defence called it a "fantasy of the Crown's".
The night of Singh's death started with a pizza party with friends in Helensburgh on 28 January 2024.
His friends said he was in a good mood, with his wife soon leaving India and moving to New Zealand to live with him. Singh had planned a three-day trip to pick her up from Christchurch.
They last saw him alive at 10.30pm when he left the party.
Dhruval Aery testified that he went to Singh's home after receiving multiple panicked messages from a mutual friend because he could not be reached.
He found Singh's bloodied body on the lawn.
"I can tell that he is no more," Aery told the court.
Singh's widow Kamaljeet Kaur said her bags were packed for her move to Dunedin when she found out her husband had been killed.
Videos from officers at the property showed blood stains on the ground, hand rail, furniture and wall, a broken large window and signs of a struggle inside.
Singh's father Nishan Singh said his killer ruined their lives, believing he might have been motived by the rejected marriage proposal.
"We don't know what the exact reason is but this is what I believe in," Nishan Singh said.
Speaking through a translator after the verdict, Nishan Singh described his son as honest and hardworking who had been supporting his family.
"He was living a good life."
What happened had been terrible, but he was grateful that justice had prevailed, Nishan Singh said.
"Rajinder had killed my son and I know this is not going to bring my son back, but at least ... he was found guilty," he said.
Nishan Singh hoped Rajinder would get life imprisonment when he would be sentenced in April next year.
"He has ruined not just our lives but his family life as well. I just hope he someday he confesses why he did it and that will give me more peace in life."
He thanked the police and prosecutors for bringing his son's killer to justice.
Detective Senior Sergeant Nik Leigh said he believed police got the right result. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
Speaking outside the courthouse, Detective Senior Sergeant Nik Leigh said he was pleased with the verdict after a "thorough" investigation.
"Obviously, this isn't going to bring Gurjit back and it's a tragic senseless killing, but I do want to acknowledge the hard work of the investigation team. We had a lot of staff working on this and it's got the right result, I think," Leigh said.
Nearly 80 police staff were involved during the murder investigation as they "threw everything at it", he said.
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