A 58-year-old Indian-origin woman convicted of murdering her nine-year-old stepdaughter has been sentenced to 22 years life in prison in the United States.
Nine-year-old Ashdeep Kaur was strangled to death in the family bathtub in August of 2016.
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Woman convicted of murdering her nine-year-old stepdaughter
According to trial testimony, Ashdeep’s step-mother Shamdai Arjun, was observed by an eye-witness exiting the family home in Queens, New York and getting into the car with her former husband Raymond Narayan and her two grandchildren, aged three and five.
She was asked about the nine-year-old victim’s whereabouts upon which Ms Arjun informed the child was in the bathroom and was waiting for her father to pick her up.
The eyewitness, who observed that the bathroom light had been on since at least two hours, called the victim’s father and was instructed to break through the bathroom door, at which time she found the deceased victim in the bathtub.
A report filed by the Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the cause of death was manual strangulation.
Last month, a jury found the Ms Arjun guilty of second-degree murder after deliberating for less than an hour.
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On Monday, Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth C. Holder, who presided at the trial, sentenced Ms Arjun to an indeterminate term of 22 years to life in prison.
Acting District Attorney Ryan said, “The defendant in this case goes beyond the tales of evil stepmothers. This defendant committed the unimaginable - she wrapped her hands around her stepdaughter’s little neck and squeezed the life out of her. The victim was an innocent child and just nine years old. The Court has imposed a sentence that will likely guarantee this woman never sees freedom again. The sentence of the Court is more than warranted in this tragic case.”
