Texas father murders his two children and sets their bodies on fire before killing himself after bitter divorce
A Texas father is believed to have killed his two young children and set their bodies on fire before fatally shooting himself on Mother's Day following a bitter divorce with his wife.
According to a press release issued by the Cooke County Sheriff's Office, they received a call reporting that a silver Honda passenger car was on fire on the middle of the roadway in rural northwest Cooke County at around 8.30 pm on Sunday, May 12.
The Muenster Volunteer Fire Department was the first to respond to the scene and, after successfully extinguishing the fire, found the remains of two young deceased children in the back seat of the vehicle.
Cooke County Sheriff's Office deputies and investigators, Texas Rangers, and Fire Marshalls arrived on the scene soon after to investigate and determined that the car had been intentionally set ablaze.
After further investigation, they identified the suspect as 37-year-old Mandeep Singh of Fort Worth, Texas, and theorized he may have fled the vehicle on foot or was picked up by another vehicle. They announced that he was wanted on a capital murder charge but warned he was considered to be armed and dangerous.
At 1 pm the next day, May 13, Cooke County Sheriff Terry Gilbert revealed they had found Singh's dead body in a heavily wooded area near the original crime in the 1000 block of County Road 417. His body, as well as those of the victims, were subsequently taken to an area medical examiner to determine the cause of death.
Investigators said it appeared as though the 37-year-old had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that the case appears to be one of murder-suicide, but that they were waiting for the results from the autopsies before reaching any conclusion.
The Star-Telegram identified the two victims as Singh's two children, his son, four-year-old Ajit Singh Birring, and his daughter, three-year-old Mehar Kaur. While Gilbert said no motive had been established in the case yet, it was reported that Singh had killed them in the aftermath of a divorce with his ex-wife, Narinder Pal Kaur.
It emerged that Singh had been previously arrested in October 2016 in Fort Worth on charge of assault with bodily injury against Kaur. Still his wife at that point, Kaur had called 911 to report that she had been assaulted.
The 37-year-old was sentenced to 15 months probation on the charge in May 2017, and two months later, in July 2017, Kaur filed for divorce. Fort Worth police reports and court records also indicate that the last year has been a tumultuous one for Singh that included family assault, parenting classes, fights over property, child support, and health insurance for the children.
In November 2018, a divorce was granted, but Singh and his wife continued to have court hearings regarding issues such as debit division, conservatorship, and possessions. It was reported that Kaur had recently obtained a restraining order against him that mandated he have no contact with her unless it was about the children as well, which might have been responsible for the tragic incident on Mother's Day.