Indian American man in New Jersey indicted on charges of stabbing his wife to death

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An Indian-American man from Pennsville, N.J., accused of killing his wife last July 19 was recently indicted by a grand jury on murder charges.

Nitin Paul Singh, 47, was arrested and charged with the murder which according to police, had taken place even as the couple’s three children were sleeping in the same apartment.

The news outlet nj.com, quoting from court documents, reported that on April 26, Singh was indicted by a Salem County grand jury on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree aggravated assault, one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

At 5:30 am, July 19, 2016, a 911 operator fielded a call from a man who said his wife was not breathing, but he did not explain why.

When the police arrived at his home in Pennsville, they found Nitin Singh standing over 42-year old Seema Singh’s dead body with a bloodstained knife and bloody hands and clothes, in what the police described at that time as a brutal crime they had seen in decades, if ever, while working in law enforcement. According to police, Seema Singh was stabbed some 30 times on her chest and stomach. The Singh’s also owned a Quick Stop shop in Collingswood, N.J., some 45 minutes from their home.

Nitin Singh was arrested on murder charges and placed at the Salem County Correctional Facility in Mannington Township on a $1 million cash bail, Pennsville Police Chief Allen J. Cummings told Desi Talk at that time. According to nj.com, the bail amount has now been reduced to $350,000 after the indictment.

Details of the 911 calls obtained by New Jersey Advance Media, show Singh asking for help at his address 144 North Broadway in Pennsville, saying “my wife is not breathing.” When asked why she was not breathing he had no answer. Subsequent calls from 911 to Singh’s number were not answered. While police officers were in the house, Nitin Singh at one point, told an officer, “Help my wife.” When the officer told him she was dead, he showed no emotion.

The small town of 13,500 people covering a bare 27 square miles of rural New Jersey, reeled in shock after the killing, but came together to hold a vigil for Seema Singh next day. And the church to which the Singh’s belonged, began collections to support the children, subsequent news reports said. “In my career as a police officer, that is a very, very angry murder,” Cummings told Desi Talk. While Pennsville is not devoid of crime, in fact police field 35 to 40 domestic disturbance cases every month, some of them involving sexual assault, none of them had been so violent, Cummings indicated. “It was brutal – a really, really brutal homicide,” Cummings said almost at a loss for words. He had not seen one like it in his 27 years in the force, he said.

The children were housed with a local family belonging to the same church as the Singh’s. The mother in that family was Seema Singh’s closest friend, Desi Talk learned. Child protective services was supposed to decide what was best for the children. However, nj.com reported April 27, that officials could not say where the children are being housed now.

After the murder, Desi Talk learned from sources who did not want to be named, that the oldest son was reluctant to leave his friends and his school, and that the community, including police, was doing whatever it could to help the family. The school principal and teachers came with books and other materials for the children. The local pastor met family members. Police met extended family who came from India, Massachusetts and New York

Singh is supposed to begin plea negotiations now that he has been indicted by a grand jury, and in the event that no deal is reached, his case will go to trial. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to a term of 30 years to life, authorities told nj.com.