Britain's Most Evil Killers Season 10 Episode 1

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Transcript

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.

45:16Rogers said lagi

45:21to end his life.

45:41We've been marking up the interview

45:43for the future of Toy Chima aut Baltic,

45:44which is the film that we have

45:44Transcription by CastingWords

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