A former Vancouver resident who eluded authorities for more than 10 years has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting death of an 18-year-old woman.
Ninderjit Singh was charged with the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Poonam Randhawa.
Until his arrest in 2011, Singh had been living with his wife and two young children in San Jacinto, California, where he worked as a truck driver.
He was accused of murdering Poonam during her lunch break at Sir Winston Secondary on Jan. 26, 1999. He allegedly shot her once in the head as she sat in the back of a friend's car and then dumped her body on a quiet street.
Singh allegedly fled the country for Seattle and then California immediately after the slaying, and police on both sides of the border searched for him for more than a decade.
They came close to catching him in San Jose in 2000, but he was apparently tipped off and disappeared once again. Singh was on the U.S.’s most wanted list for several years.
During his time on the lam, Singh's appearance changed drastically. The once-slim man ballooned to 300 lbs., grew a beard and started wearing a turban.
Singh now faces a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least a decade.
Defence counsel Russ Chamberlain said it’s likely he’ll be deported because he isn’t a Canadian citizen.
“It puts to bed a long investigation,” he told reporters outside the courtroom. “It brings finality to the family and it brings certainty to the results of the police investigation and the criminal prosecution.”
Randhawa's family declined to speak to members of the media. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 27 and 28.
