- 2 days ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00In January 2009, a man in West London made a panicked 999 call.
00:20Someone's reporting me now, too.
00:24You think your ex-girlfriend's done it?
00:26Mm-hmm.
00:27Hours later, the caller Lucky Chima was dead.
00:32Alarm bells rang for medics who suspected foul play.
00:37People don't just die not from these symptoms,
00:42and it was something that the nurses and doctors had never seen before.
00:46In a highly unusual investigation,
00:49detectives uncovered a love triangle as toxic as the poison that had killed Lucky Chima.
00:55Lucky's former lover, Lakvya, couldn't bear the thought that he was going to marry someone else.
01:03She was jealous and obsessively jealous.
01:07In an impotent rage, Lakvya Singh chose a particularly cruel death for the man she claimed to love.
01:14Your mind knows that your body is closing down and collapsing around you,
01:20and you are dying an agonising death.
01:23Devastated at losing her long-term lover,
01:26Lakvya Singh planned to stop Lucky Chima finding happiness with anyone else.
01:32She expected to get away with murder,
01:35but was finally exposed as one of Britain's most evil killers.
01:39When a previously healthy couple fell dangerously ill in West London,
02:09in 2009,
02:11medics knew immediately that something unusual had happened.
02:15We had all these different things that we were considering.
02:18Is it poisoning?
02:19Is it contamination within the food chain?
02:25The police had to go to DEFRA,
02:28the Health Protection Agency,
02:29and even the botanists at Kew Gardens.
02:32Eventually, the clues led to a conclusion.
02:36The couple had been poisoned with Indian aconite,
02:39a perennial plant which is the source of one of nature's most dangerous poisons.
02:45It's an exceptionally unusual poison in this country.
02:48The last case of aconite poisoning was in 1882.
02:53Never since.
02:54And poisoning, in any event,
02:56is pretty unusual in this country in homicide cases.
02:59By using this rare toxin,
03:03had Lakvir Singh gambled on getting away with murder?
03:07Until relatively recently,
03:09in, say, the last 30 years,
03:11you couldn't analyse for it.
03:14So, previously,
03:16we were very much dependent on, one,
03:19high concentration being present,
03:22real knowledge that it was that particular one,
03:24so you knew what you were looking for when you started out.
03:29So, those advances enable us now
03:32to identify toxins at a much, much lower concentration.
03:39Lakvir Singh had woven what must have seemed like an ingenious plot.
03:44She'd not reckoned on the tenacity of London's homicide detectives.
03:49This killer's story begins in the Punjab region
03:55of northwestern India in October 1964.
04:01We don't know a lot about her background.
04:03She came to this country,
04:05and in July 1985,
04:08Lakvir had an arranged marriage,
04:10and she and her husband lived in Southall.
04:12Sing worked for a catering company in Heathrow,
04:20which was very close to Southall
04:22and was a major local business.
04:26The couple had three children together,
04:29but I don't think it was a particularly happy marriage.
04:34Sing was caring for her husband because he had cancer,
04:37and on occasions, he actually went to India for treatment.
04:42In 1993, a new lodger brought some light
04:49into 28-year-old Lakvir Singh's otherwise difficult life.
04:54Lakfinder Chima was known as Lucky.
04:56That was his nickname.
04:58His sister was married to Singh's brother.
05:02Lucky Chima arrived in England in his early 20s.
05:07At that point, he was already married.
05:10His marriage had failed,
05:11and so suddenly he needed somewhere to stay.
05:15And he moved in with Lakvir Singh and her husband
05:18as their tenant, as a lodger in their house in Southall.
05:26Lucky worked for Rent-A-Kill,
05:28and he was described as a model work colleague.
05:32His colleagues thought he was always smiling,
05:34he was well-known,
05:35he was a popular bloke to work with.
05:3623-year-old Lucky Chima's charms were not lost on his new landlady,
05:43Lakvir Singh.
05:46From the moment he arrived,
05:49our understanding was that he formed a sexual relationship with Singh,
05:52and that carried on for at least 15 years.
05:54He was quite charming, quite charismatic.
06:00She was probably quite vulnerable in a lot of ways.
06:04You could see how that situation might happen.
06:07Clearly, Lakvir had very, very strong feelings for Lucky,
06:15and I think Lucky had probably convinced her
06:19that they would probably have a future together.
06:21It was a dangerous game to play
06:26in the close-knit West London community.
06:29I'm sure Singh felt trapped
06:31in this unhappy marriage with her husband
06:34when Lucky was really the light of her life
06:37and really the only person she really loved.
06:40Around 2006, Lucky moved into his own home
06:49six miles from Southall.
06:52He bought a four-bedroom property in Feltham.
06:56He occupied the ground floor of that house
07:00and rented out the other rooms,
07:03the upstairs rooms to tenants,
07:05and they had shared facilities,
07:07so they all shared the facilities of the kitchen.
07:12Lucky's tenants soon became familiar
07:14with his attentive friend, Lakvir Singh.
07:20To all intents and purposes,
07:21it was like as if they were married
07:23because she would turn up and do all of the cooking
07:25and the washing and the tidying up,
07:26and I suspect that when she did that at Lucky's home,
07:29she'd go and do the same thing at her home.
07:31Lucky sent to Lakvir on her birthday in October 2008,
07:41you be my loved and I will give you all my love.
07:46The affair had, by this time,
07:49become an open secret among Lakvir Singh
07:51and Lucky Chima's loved ones.
07:54It was a very unhappy relationship culturally,
07:59both for her family and for his family.
08:03In the autumn of 2008,
08:0615 years into their illicit affair,
08:08this uneasy equilibrium was shattered
08:11when 39-year-old Lucky began looking to the future.
08:16On the 18th of October 2008,
08:18Lucky Chima met a young woman
08:20at a local Sikh temple in Southall.
08:22She had come to the United Kingdom in 2008.
08:29She came here illegally,
08:31on a false passport.
08:34Gorjit was much younger than Lucky.
08:36She was 21 years old.
08:42She was introduced to Lucky
08:45with a view to then being married.
08:52And they plainly got on.
08:59They came quickly, I believe,
09:02to love each other.
09:03They appeared very happy together.
09:06News of the courting couple's plans
09:09came as a shock to Lakvir Singh.
09:12By the 2nd of November 2008,
09:16so really just within a few weeks
09:17of their first meeting,
09:19their engagement was announced.
09:24Lucky told Singh
09:25that he wanted to start a relationship
09:27with someone else and have children.
09:31Singh reacted with absolute fury
09:33to this devastating blow to her plans.
09:37She started texting Lucky
09:38with threatening messages,
09:40saying that she was going to come
09:43and burn his house down.
09:46She was absolutely furious
09:47by what she clearly saw
09:49was an absolute betrayal.
09:51She was obviously devastated,
09:54angry, hurt,
09:55sort of mixture
09:56of pleading with him
09:57to come back
09:58and being abusive to him
10:00around how could you
10:01treat me like this.
10:03Lucky Chima did not make
10:05a clean break
10:06with his long-term lover.
10:08Lucky, in fact,
10:09had kept Singh's hopes up.
10:12He even sent her a text
10:13saying,
10:14I live for the moment
10:15where you can see each other
10:16in a dream.
10:16While telling Gurjeet
10:19that his affair with Singh
10:21had been over for years,
10:23Lucky continued to see
10:24his secret lover.
10:26Even though he was saying
10:27he wanted to form a relationship
10:29with Gurjeet,
10:30he was still having
10:30a sexual relationship
10:31with Singh at the same time.
10:33And he was expressing
10:34his love for her
10:35and that the two of them
10:36would always be together.
10:40In November 2008,
10:43as Lucky and Gurjeet
10:44made plans,
10:45Lakvir Singh attended
10:47a family event in India.
10:49There, she found a solution
10:50to her situation,
10:52one that she hoped
10:53would blow any wedding plans
10:55out of the water.
11:08In late November 2008,
11:1144-year-old Lakvir Singh
11:13returned to the UK
11:15from India,
11:16determined to drive a wedge
11:18between 39-year-old
11:19Lucky Chima
11:20and his new fiancé, Gurjeet.
11:23Singh was saying to him,
11:25look, you don't really want
11:26to be going out
11:26with this woman
11:27because she's illegal
11:29in the country
11:30and all she basically wants
11:32is a passport.
11:33Singh's attempts
11:34to sour the relationship
11:36fell on deaf ears.
11:38In early December,
11:40Gurjeet and Lucky
11:41give details of
11:44when they're going
11:44to get married
11:45the following February.
11:50To add insult to injury,
11:54Lucky and Gurjeet
11:56decided to get married
11:57on Valentine's Day 2009,
12:00which simply rubbed salt
12:02into the wounds
12:03of Latvia Singh.
12:09A few days after announcing
12:11their wedding plans,
12:13Lucky fell gravely ill.
12:16Lucky had had a period
12:18of sickness
12:19that had come on
12:22quite quickly,
12:23hadn't been fully diagnosed,
12:26but he had had several days
12:28of really quite extreme,
12:31what was probably
12:32sort of put down
12:33to sort of either
12:34food poisoning
12:35or sort of gastroenteritis.
12:38Singh attends almost every day
12:40to visit him in hospital
12:42and during that time
12:43she's still trying
12:44to convince him
12:45that he shouldn't get married
12:47to Gurjeet.
12:50I think Gurjeet realised
12:52that the relationship
12:53with Singh
12:54was still continuing.
12:56So she took Singh aside
12:58to try and warn her off
13:00and basically told her,
13:02look, forget it,
13:03he's my man now.
13:08In response,
13:09Singh dropped a bombshell
13:11that she hoped
13:11might put 21-year-old Gurjeet
13:14off for good.
13:15She told Gurjeet
13:17she'd become pregnant
13:18on at least two occasions
13:20and Lucky apparently
13:22wanted her to have abortions.
13:24She was trying everything
13:27to claw the relationship back,
13:28panicking in this state of chaos.
13:34She even threw in threats,
13:36serious threats,
13:37threats of arson,
13:39threats of harm to him.
13:40But this isn't,
13:41this is not unusual
13:43in a situation like this
13:45where the person
13:46is actually escalating
13:47and becoming more
13:49and more dangerous.
13:51Lucky spent two or three days
13:53in the hospital
13:54feeling pretty ill
13:55but thought perhaps
13:57nothing of it at the time,
13:58perhaps food poisoning.
14:03After he's released
14:04from hospital,
14:05we know that this is
14:07almost close to Christmas
14:08and you'd have thought
14:08that he would be
14:09with Gurjeet
14:10during this period
14:11but completely the opposite.
14:13He spends
14:14the entire Christmas
14:15with Singh.
14:17It just goes to show you
14:18the level of control
14:19to some degree
14:20that Singh had
14:21over Lucky.
14:23Despite his mixed messages,
14:25Lucky's wedding planning
14:27continued
14:27and in January 2009,
14:30Gurjeet started spending
14:32the odd night with him
14:33at his home
14:34in Feltham.
14:35When you got
14:36to January 2009,
14:38his attitude
14:39to Lakvir changed.
14:42Notably,
14:42he stopped sleeping
14:43with her.
14:48On the 27th of January,
14:51with less than three weeks
14:52to go until their marriage,
14:54Lucky and Gurjeet
14:55shared a meal
14:56in the kitchen
14:57of Lucky's home.
15:01Gurjeet and Lucky
15:03were discussing
15:05their wedding plans.
15:06But the couple
15:07would never get
15:08to share their vows.
15:10Just a few hours later,
15:12Gurjeet was seriously ill
15:13and Lucky Chima
15:15was dead.
15:16Lucky had presented himself
15:18at the hospital
15:19along with Gurjeet.
15:22Gurjeet was immediately
15:23put into an induced coma
15:25because she was so ill.
15:27The doctors tried
15:28to revive Lucky
15:30but he died
15:31at about half past two
15:32in the morning.
15:34Medics had no idea
15:35what had struck down
15:37the previously healthy couple
15:39but in his final breaths,
15:41Lucky Chima
15:42had given them
15:43a major clue.
15:45In the hour
15:46that he was alive
15:47between arriving
15:48at the hospital
15:48and he's finally dying,
15:51Lucky was able
15:52to whisper to doctors,
15:54it was my ex-girlfriend.
15:55So on the 28th of January
16:042009,
16:05the police were alerted
16:07by Middlesex Hospital
16:09of a very suspicious
16:11incident whereby
16:13a relatively healthy male
16:14had died
16:15with very shocking
16:17and sudden symptoms.
16:19DCI Howard Groves
16:23led the Metropolitan Police
16:24homicide team
16:25that took the call
16:27from West Middlesex Hospital.
16:29My team at that point
16:30decided that we would
16:31treat it as a murder investigation
16:33and then that would
16:36allow us to establish
16:37the facts.
16:40The homicide command
16:42would have sent
16:43an initial response team
16:45to attend the hospital,
16:47obviously to speak
16:47to the doctors concerned.
16:50The sister and nephews
16:51of the deceased
16:52had actually taken him
16:53to hospital.
16:54So they were key witnesses
16:56who could explain
16:57to the hospital
16:58and us
16:59exactly what had
17:00been happening.
17:01The team also reviewed
17:03a 999 call
17:05made by Lucky Chima
17:06the previous evening.
17:08OK, is your girlfriend
17:09conscious?
17:11Yes.
17:13Is she awake?
17:14Yes, she's like me.
17:15Detectives looked into the meal
17:44the couple had been sharing
17:45shortly before Lucky
17:47made the call.
17:50It was actually a curry
17:52that Goji had made
17:54and they'd eaten that meal
17:57the night before
17:58where there was quite a
17:59significant amount
18:00of leftovers
18:01which had been put
18:02into a Tupperware pot
18:03and which they had put
18:05on Lucky's shelf
18:06in the fridge.
18:07Goji hadn't been well
18:12and she didn't really
18:13want to eat very much.
18:14Lucky, on the other hand,
18:15had been working hard
18:16and was ravenous.
18:19He ate two portions
18:21of the curry
18:22while she ate
18:23very little.
18:25It was a decision
18:25that was to cost him
18:26his life.
18:31About an hour,
18:33hour and a half
18:33after eating their dinner
18:35he started feeling
18:37extremely unwell.
18:40He had violent vomiting.
18:43He described how his
18:44sight was going.
18:45Everything became dark.
18:47He couldn't feel
18:48his hands,
18:49his legs.
18:49He said he couldn't
18:50even feel his tongue
18:51when he was holding it
18:52and he couldn't
18:53stand up straight.
18:55He had to support himself.
18:57This was very,
18:59very frightening.
19:01He deteriorated quickly
19:03and was in
19:05very significant pain.
19:09Goji decided
19:10that she was going
19:11to have a shower
19:11and by the time
19:13she came back down
19:14his condition
19:16had worsened
19:17and now she was
19:18beginning to feel
19:19similar symptoms.
19:23They called 999.
19:25The operator
19:26speaks to Lucky
19:27and asks whether
19:28or not he had
19:29got food poisoning
19:30and he said,
19:31no,
19:31I have been poisoned.
19:33Women put poison
19:34in our food.
19:37Why would someone
19:38put poison
19:39in your food?
19:42Clearly he
19:43was acutely aware
19:45that something
19:46quite serious
19:47had probably happened
19:48to both of them.
19:50He also phoned
19:51his sister
19:52who lived very close by
19:54because he was
19:56really panicking.
19:59When the family
20:00came around,
20:01in fact,
20:01before the emergency
20:03services were due
20:04to be there,
20:05he was carried out
20:08and it was him
20:08being taken
20:09to a car
20:10of a nephew
20:11that was just
20:13caught on CCTV.
20:16He was obviously
20:17in really significant
20:19distress,
20:20in very significant
20:21pain,
20:22in and out
20:23of consciousness.
20:26Gugit was also ill.
20:27She herself
20:28has described
20:29how she started,
20:30her eyes started
20:31to go completely.
20:33Her tummy was hurting,
20:34she couldn't stand
20:35up properly
20:36and she too
20:37was bundled
20:38into the car
20:38to take her
20:39off to hospital.
20:41And she described
20:42how she was
20:44trying to reach
20:44out her hand
20:45to hold Lucky's hand
20:46and she couldn't
20:47move her hands
20:48because of the
20:49paralysis.
20:52The car taking
20:54Lucky screeched
20:55to a halt
20:55outside West Middlesex
20:56Hospital
20:57and Lucky
20:58was rushed inside.
21:00But there was
21:01nothing they can do.
21:02and within an hour
21:05of arriving
21:06at the hospital
21:06Lucky was dead.
21:09Gugit by now
21:10was also
21:12in a very,
21:13very poorly condition
21:14and she was actually
21:15placed into a coma.
21:20With one patient
21:22dead
21:22and another's
21:23life in the balance,
21:25medics faced
21:25a race against time
21:26to discover
21:27what deadly illness
21:29had befallen
21:29the betrothed couple.
21:31she may have lost
21:32her fiancé
21:33but could
21:33Gugit's life
21:35be saved?
21:44On the 28th
21:48of January
21:492009,
21:51the Met Police's
21:52homicide unit
21:53launched an investigation
21:54into the highly
21:56unusual death
21:57of Lakvinda
21:57Lucky Chima
21:58who died in agony
22:00at a West London
22:01hospital.
22:04When
22:05Lucky arrived
22:06at the hospital
22:06he was adamant
22:07that he had
22:07been poisoned.
22:10I took the view
22:11that we had to
22:13treat it
22:13as if
22:14it was a poisoning.
22:15We couldn't
22:16say to ourselves
22:16we'll wait
22:17for the post-mortem
22:18and see what
22:18happens next.
22:19We rarely
22:22dealt with
22:23cases of
22:24poisoning.
22:25Our
22:26general
22:26day-to-day
22:27murders
22:28would be
22:28shootings,
22:30stabbings,
22:31gangland
22:31type
22:32killings.
22:33So this
22:33really stood
22:34out
22:35as an
22:36unusual
22:36case
22:37and certainly
22:38one that I had
22:39never dealt
22:39with in the
22:40past.
22:41Unused to
22:42treating
22:42poisoning
22:43of this
22:43intensity,
22:45medics
22:45wondered
22:45if they
22:46were
22:46dealing
22:46with
22:47some
22:47kind
22:47of
22:47biological
22:48or
22:49chemical
22:49weapon.
22:51There were
22:52a lot of
22:53concerns that
22:53there was
22:54potentially
22:54cyanide
22:55poisoning
22:56involved.
22:57So it
22:57was treated
22:58incredibly
22:58seriously
22:59and in
22:59terms of
23:00the deceased
23:01body
23:01that was
23:02put into
23:02a sealed
23:03room
23:03and
23:04everyone
23:04had to
23:05wear
23:05specialist
23:06protective
23:07equipment,
23:08specialist
23:09breathing
23:09equipment
23:09because
23:10obviously
23:10if it
23:10had been
23:11cyanide
23:11that is
23:12incredibly
23:13dangerous.
23:15While
23:20murder
23:20was one
23:21scenario
23:21for
23:22detectives
23:22to
23:23consider,
23:23they also
23:24had to
23:24find out
23:25if there
23:25was
23:26another
23:26explanation,
23:28contamination
23:28in the
23:29food chain
23:29that could
23:30have caused
23:31Lucky's
23:31death and
23:32which might
23:32strike another
23:33innocent
23:34victim at
23:35any moment.
23:36We decided
23:37to contact
23:37the Department
23:38of Environmental
23:39Food
23:40and Rural
23:41Affairs,
23:41DEFRA,
23:43because they
23:44have,
23:45the knowledge
23:46and expertise
23:46to look at
23:47food and
23:48its production
23:48and they
23:49said to
23:49us that
23:50they didn't
23:50have any
23:51records of
23:52anyone presenting
23:54themselves to
23:54the hospitals
23:55throughout the
23:55UK in the
23:56last 72
23:57hours with
23:58any similar
23:58symptoms.
24:01With the
24:02ball back
24:02in their
24:03court,
24:04the police
24:04face the
24:05urgent
24:05challenge of
24:06identifying
24:06what the
24:07poison could
24:08be.
24:09As
24:09Gajit
24:10continued
24:10fighting for
24:11her life,
24:12knowledge of
24:13the substance
24:13could help
24:14the medics
24:15trying to
24:16save her.
24:17The agency
24:18that we were
24:19advised to
24:19contact was
24:20the Health
24:20Protection Agency.
24:22They had the
24:22necessary expertise
24:24to be able to
24:25attend Lucky's
24:26home in
24:27hazmat suits
24:28and they
24:29retrieved the
24:30Tupperware
24:31that the
24:32remains of
24:33some of the
24:33meal that was
24:33consumed.
24:35While analysis
24:36began on the
24:37remnants of the
24:38curry,
24:39police officers
24:40had to act on
24:41Lucky Chima's
24:41suspicions about
24:43his former
24:43lover,
24:44Lakvir Singh.
24:46On Wednesday
24:46the 28th,
24:47Singh was
24:47arrested.
24:49She was
24:50arrested on
24:51suspicion of
24:52the murder
24:52of Lucky and
24:54also at that
24:55point the
24:55attempted murder
24:56of Gajit.
24:59When the
25:00police arrived
25:01at Singh's
25:01house, far
25:02from being
25:03angry or
25:04involved or
25:05emotional,
25:07she was very
25:07calm and
25:08collected,
25:08made out that
25:10she had no
25:11idea what
25:11they were
25:12there for.
25:14Clearly, by
25:15this stage,
25:15Singh knew
25:16that Lucky
25:17was dead.
25:20This was the
25:20man she had
25:21loved, the
25:22one love in
25:23her life and
25:24had been in
25:24a relationship
25:25for 16
25:25years.
25:27And here she
25:27was giving a
25:28very calm,
25:29composed response
25:31to the arrival
25:32of the police
25:32and for the
25:33fact that she
25:33was being
25:33arrested.
25:34Lakvir Singh
25:39was not the
25:40only person
25:40of interest
25:41for police.
25:43Another
25:43relative, a
25:44man with
25:44ties to both
25:45Singh and
25:46Lucky, was
25:47also taken
25:48in for
25:48questioning.
25:50On the
25:51day of the
25:52poisoning of
25:53Gurjit and
25:54Lucky, a
25:57family member
25:58had actually
25:59attended
25:59Lucky's
26:00address and
26:01spoken to
26:01Gurjit.
26:02He had
26:05threatened
26:05Lucky that
26:07very day, the
26:09shame he was
26:10bringing on the
26:11wider family.
26:13But even as
26:14police questioned
26:15this man, their
26:16colleagues were
26:17uncovering evidence
26:18that he was not
26:19the likely
26:20assailant.
26:22At the time of
26:23Singh's arrest, a
26:24search was
26:24conducted at her
26:25address and the
26:27officers recovered
26:28from a coat that
26:29she had hanging
26:30over the
26:31banister, a
26:32brown substance.
26:33And not only did
26:34they find a
26:35brown substance in
26:36a plastic bag,
26:37they also found
26:38something similar
26:39in a handbag.
26:40Suspecting this
26:41unknown substance
26:42could be linked
26:43with Lucky's death
26:44and Gurjit's
26:45perilous condition,
26:47it was imperative
26:48detectives find out
26:49what it was.
26:52The first thing
26:53that the police did
26:54was to confront
26:55Singh and say,
26:57what is this brown
26:57powder?
26:58and she acted
26:59completely nonchalantly
27:00and say, oh,
27:01that's nothing,
27:02that's a bit of
27:02herbal stuff that I
27:03have for a neck
27:04rash.
27:06My colleagues
27:07were not happy
27:08with that and
27:09actually explained
27:10and said, look,
27:10someone has died
27:11and there's someone
27:12very seriously
27:13ill in hospital.
27:16If the doctors
27:18knew exactly what
27:19was in that bag,
27:20then they could
27:21have come up with
27:22a solution as to
27:22how they were going
27:23to treat Gurjit.
27:26We knew more than
27:27likely it was a
27:28poison, but there
27:29are hundreds and
27:30thousands of different
27:31poisons, but she
27:32wouldn't tell us
27:33exactly what it was.
27:34It's not clear
27:36whether Singh intended
27:38Gurjit to die as
27:40well, and it's quite
27:41possible that she saw
27:43her as irrelevant and
27:45that if she does,
27:46it's all good.
27:46If she doesn't, it
27:47doesn't matter because
27:48he'll be dead anyway
27:49and she can't have him.
27:53Still none the wiser,
27:56investigators hope
27:57Lucky Cheema's
27:58post-mortem might
28:00reveal some answers
28:01about what had
28:02killed him.
28:03I remember
28:04personally being at
28:05the post-mortem that
28:07was conducted by a
28:08very eminent
28:09pathologist and I
28:10remember that he
28:11received sort of
28:13sealed instructions,
28:15I think from
28:15something like
28:16Portland Down, of
28:18how to deal with
28:19the potential cyanide
28:19poisoning and we all
28:21had to wear sort of
28:22chemical protective
28:24overalls, breathing
28:25apparatus, it's the
28:27only time that I've
28:28ever had to do that
28:29at a post-mortem.
28:31There were multiple
28:32samples taken from
28:34Lucky's body and that
28:36would have included
28:37stomach contents,
28:38blood, urine, hair,
28:41everything that could
28:42possibly be tested to
28:45give an indication of
28:46what he had ingested
28:48and what had caused
28:49his death.
28:50The post-mortem was
28:51inconclusive.
28:53While detectives
28:54awaited the results of
28:55toxicology tests on
28:57Lucky's blood and
28:58stomach contents, time
29:00was running out to hold
29:02Lakvir Singh on suspicion
29:03of Lucky's murder.
29:05They needed to establish a
29:07link between the spurned
29:09lover and Lucky's
29:10sudden illness.
29:12The police were able to
29:14put together some of the
29:15events leading up to his
29:17death.
29:17The tenants living in
29:19Lucky's home were key
29:20witnesses to the events
29:22of that day.
29:23On the 27th of January,
29:25around about 10.30 in the
29:27morning, Singh went to
29:29Lucky's house.
29:31She knocked on the door
29:33and she was allowed entry by
29:36one of the other tenants who
29:38lived in one of the upstairs
29:39bedrooms.
29:40There was nothing unusual about
29:42this whatsoever.
29:44She was a regular visitor to
29:46the house.
29:49Gurjit was actually staying at
29:51Lucky's home at that point
29:52and she wasn't feeling well and
29:54had spent most of the day
29:56sleeping.
29:59The tenants that were in the
30:01address were all sitting in the
30:02kitchen chatting.
30:04Singh went straight to the
30:06fridge, opened the door and
30:07with her back to them, she took
30:08out an item from the fridge.
30:11They couldn't see what she was
30:13doing.
30:15She knew about Lucky's
30:17habits, whereabouts in the
30:20address he lived, which part of
30:22the refrigerator he used for his
30:25food.
30:28She, of all people, would have
30:30known where the curry to be
30:33consumed by him was going to be
30:35in the fridge.
30:37She then closed it up and put it
30:39back in the fridge, had a
30:41little, I had a little chat with
30:42them and then left.
30:44Now, for the tenants, that
30:46didn't raise any alarms.
30:49We know that when Lucky came
30:51home and he was told that she had
30:52turned up, he actually did
30:54something which was quite strange.
30:56He changed the locks on the back
30:57door and the front door, which
30:58would indicate he didn't want her
31:00there.
31:02At that point, I think Lucky must
31:05have been feeling actually very,
31:08very uneasy about the relationship
31:10and how it had broken down and how
31:13it was actually affecting Singh.
31:16Having decided to get the locks
31:18changed, he phoned Singh in a fury
31:20to demand an answer to, what were
31:23you doing in my house?
31:25And she just told him, we're coming
31:27to get you.
31:29And me and five other men, which
31:32of course only added to the sense
31:35of fear and trepidation that Lucky
31:37had, what on earth was Singh going
31:39to do next?
31:42Singh made some very serious threats.
31:45And I think Lucky was probably stuck
31:47between being really quite frightened
31:50of her and what she might do, but also
31:55how was he going to tell anyone?
31:57How was he actually going to deal
31:59with this?
32:00Detectives had quickly built a picture
32:03of an obsessive, threatening ex who'd
32:06been seen acting oddly in Lucky
32:08Chima's home the day he and Gajit
32:11mysteriously fell ill.
32:13But they still didn't know for sure that
32:15they'd been poisoned, or indeed, what with?
32:20It was a circumstantial case.
32:22We didn't have an eyewitness here.
32:24After two days, Gajit began to show
32:27signs of recovery.
32:28Her testimony would help police build
32:30a better picture of the toxic love triangle.
32:34But could the police really prove beyond
32:36reasonable doubt that mother of three
32:39Lakvir Singh was a cold-blooded killer?
32:45In January 2009, detectives in West London
32:55faced the uphill struggle of proving
32:58that 44-year-old Lakvir Singh had deliberately
33:02poisoned her former lover Lucky Chima
33:04and his fiancée, Gajit.
33:07By the 31st of January, the detectives
33:16felt they had enough circumstantial evidence
33:19to charge Lakvir with the murder of Lucky
33:21and the attempted murder of Gajit.
33:24But they still didn't know what precisely
33:26the poison was that she'd used.
33:30They needed to work out what Lucky had been
33:33poisoned with to establish that link
33:37between the substances they had found
33:40and the suspect.
33:45Detectives reached out to a poisons expert
33:48to find out what substance could have caused
33:51Lucky's devastating symptoms.
33:54The poisons experts explained to the detectives,
33:58finally, that it was likely that Lucky
34:01and Gajit had been poisoned with aconite,
34:04sometimes known as wolf's bane,
34:06the queen of poisons.
34:09It's an exceptionally unusual poison in this country.
34:13The last case of aconite poisoning was in 1882,
34:17never since.
34:18The police turned to Professor Monique Simmons,
34:22a researcher and botanist with expertise
34:25in identifying plant compounds.
34:29They sometimes come to Kew because of the collections at Kew,
34:33the specimen, living specimens we have,
34:35but also the estimated 8 million in our herbarium collection.
34:40And we were aware that it could be, therefore,
34:43aconitin because of the symptoms.
34:44So we asked to hear a little bit more about the symptoms.
34:48Again, we're not medics,
34:49but we have some of that knowledge
34:51about what potentially the toxins can be.
34:55Aconitin has an effect on the organs breaking down.
34:59The victim is very much, you know, aware of what is happening.
35:02They can't breathe and things like that.
35:05Professor Simmons was given samples
35:07of all of the evidence the police had gathered.
35:10If you look, then, at the samples we've been given,
35:15some material that has come from Mrs. Singh's pocket,
35:20some from the remains of the curry, etc.,
35:25and then from samples from the victim's stomach and blood.
35:32We make an extract.
35:33So now we've got samples that we can inject
35:38into the equipment that we use.
35:45And that will help analyse that extract
35:48so we get what we term kind of a chemical fingerprint.
35:53It's not the same as a DNA fingerprint,
35:55but in our terms, it enables us to identify
35:58the different compounds that are in that extract that we've made.
36:04Analysis of Lucky's blood and stomach contents
36:08found that not only was it chemically the same
36:11as the toxins found in the samples of leftover curry in his fridge,
36:15it was also the same as the powder found
36:18in Lakvir Singh's handbag and coat pocket.
36:22But what was puzzling was that it didn't match
36:25the profile of aconite commonly found in the UK.
36:29And then that's where we heard a little bit more
36:31about the case of this is a lady who went to India.
36:34OK, why don't you think?
36:36Let's look at a species then, Ferox, from India.
36:41And then you get slightly different chemistry.
36:44And then, wow, the chemistry meets what we would expect.
36:48Professor Simmons was able to say conclusively
36:56that the substance was a match for Indian aconite.
37:01Pieces of the jigsaw were finally falling into place
37:04in the case against Lakvir Singh,
37:07who'd visited her native India
37:09around the time Lucky's engagement was announced.
37:12It was several weeks before the incident that led to death.
37:17Where exactly she went, we don't know.
37:20But the fact is, there are marketplaces in that part of India,
37:24in northern India, just south of the Himalayas,
37:28where you can buy almost anything.
37:31So we took the view from an evidential standpoint
37:34that we say that that's where she got the item from.
37:39Lucky had been hospitalised with a stomach complaint
37:43just days after Singh had returned.
37:45But on that occasion, he'd pulled through.
37:49Detectives now suspected this had been Singh's first attempt
37:53on Lucky's life.
37:55As her trial date approached,
37:57Lakvir Singh continued to deny the charges against her.
38:01Twelve months after Lucky's death,
38:04the trial opened at the Old Bailey in January 2010.
38:08Once I found out the background to this case,
38:12then this was a date in my diary that was ringed in red.
38:17This was going to be a huge case.
38:20Singh faced charges of murdering Lucky,
38:23as well as attempting to murder Gurjeet.
38:26She also faced an attempted murder charge
38:29for the incident where Lucky had fallen ill
38:32a month or so before he died.
38:35The opening statement, opening speech of a prosecutor,
38:40is a very important tool, in a way,
38:43because it's how the jury first get introduced to the case.
38:47In a way, I had an advantage,
38:49because it was a fascinating case.
38:54I was able to present the reality
38:57of a woman who just couldn't take it
39:01that her lover, who she was still in love with
39:04or maybe even obsessed by,
39:07had moved from his affections from her
39:09to this younger woman,
39:11and she was jealous and obsessively jealous.
39:15There was an element of a physical relationship continuing,
39:23but she could not face the fact of the impending marriage.
39:30She gathered in India the wherewithal
39:35in preparation to kill her former lover.
39:41Edward Brown K.C. told the jury
39:44about Lucky's mysterious illness in December 2008.
39:50His illness and his visit to the hospital
39:52were after the defendant, Mrs. Singh,
39:55had returned from India.
39:58With Lucky having survived a first attempt on his life,
40:01the prosecution's case was that in late January 2009,
40:06Lakvir Singh laced the curry in his fridge
40:09with a much stronger dose of poison,
40:11enough to end his life.
40:14Gojit, with the assistance of an interpreter,
40:17gave her account of what happened on the day in question.
40:20The Old Bailey is a very intimidating place to be,
40:24and poor Gojit was there.
40:27She'd barely been in this country more than a year or so.
40:30She was giving evidence about the murder of her fiancée,
40:33the person she planned to spend the rest of her life with.
40:37She couldn't speak the language.
40:39She looked very alone and very, very vulnerable.
40:41We know that one of the tenants also gave evidence
40:44of Singh retrieving the Tupperware with the food content in there,
40:50and there were specialists who then gave evidence
40:52in relation to aconite and the symptoms for being poisoned.
40:58Sitting silently in court, occasionally tearful,
41:02Lakvir Singh, through her lawyer,
41:04denied the charges against her.
41:06Part of Lakvir's defence when she comes to trial
41:17is that the actual murder wasn't committed by her,
41:20but was committed by a relative of both she and Lucky.
41:23Garjit confirmed on the witness stand
41:26that this man had threatened Lucky on the day he died.
41:30Lakvir also maintained in her own defence
41:32that she couldn't possibly have killed him because she loved him.
41:38When the jury retired to consider their verdict
41:41after the five-week trial,
41:43they deliberated for no fewer than four days.
41:47Really quite a long time.
41:49When the jury filed back into court with their verdicts,
41:57it's always a very, very tense moment
41:59because literally nobody apart from those 12 people
42:02know what the verdict's going to be.
42:06The jury convicted Mrs. Singh of murder of Lucky.
42:13They were not sure that Mrs. Singh intended to kill Garjit,
42:17but they convicted her of causing her GBH.
42:22They acquitted her of the earlier poisoning,
42:26as we presented it,
42:27maybe because the scientific evidence wasn't there.
42:32Singh looked mousy.
42:34She looked very sort of inward.
42:36She looked a tiny figure between prison officers.
42:40She looked beaten.
42:42She looked subdued.
42:43I think she knew almost from the start
42:45that she was going to be convicted
42:47and that she would have to live with what she's done
42:48for the rest of her life.
42:53Lakvir Singh was sentenced to life
42:55with a minimum term of 23 years in prison.
43:01I recall the judge stating
43:04that she hadn't just acted in an explosive act of revenge.
43:08It was a very cold and calculated murder.
43:12I think she probably was, generally speaking,
43:17quite a cold person, quite an entitled person,
43:21and somebody who felt that she had some kind of right
43:26to control her partners.
43:28UK women's rights charities have found
43:36that more than half of women who kill their partner
43:38do so in response to domestic violence or abuse.
43:44Lakvir Singh falls into a rare category of women
43:47who plan a homicide for another reason entirely,
43:51in her case, rageful revenge.
43:53There's this anger and outrage
43:58at the injustice of you deciding to leave me.
44:03And I do think that in this case,
44:05Singh did think she'd suffered an injustice.
44:08She thought Lucky was going to be with her forever.
44:11And it was terrible that he suddenly decided
44:14to go off and get engaged.
44:18I didn't see a single trace of remorse.
44:20It's virtually impossible to imagine
44:23that she would have any remorse
44:25because this was a planned operation
44:28and it achieved exactly what she wanted,
44:31which was the agonising death of her former lover.
44:41When Lakvir Singh's secret lover
44:44made plans for a future with someone else,
44:47it was more than she could bear.
44:50Unwilling to see Lucky Chima find happiness
44:54and a family with his new fiancée,
44:57Singh set out to end his life,
45:00grievously harming Gurjeet in the process.
45:05For a murder meticulously planned
45:08and ruthlessly executed,
45:11Lakvir Singh will always be remembered
45:13as one of Britain's most evil killers.
45:16KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KILLED KIL
45:46Transcription by CastingWords
Recommended
42:46
|
Up next
44:32
45:55
1:34:26
45:06
43:45
44:20
1:15:08
44:08
33:34
44:30
51:04
45:14
28:50
28:37
29:01
28:58
28:56
43:23
44:41
43:15
44:25
44:03
Be the first to comment