Sunday 28 February 2010

Jealous Ex's Deadly Poison Curry Plan


A jealous ex whose poison curry plan left her former boyfriend dead and his new girlfriend fighting for her life is facing life behind bars after a jury convicted her of murder.

Lakhvinder ‘Lucky’ Cheema, 39, died and his fiancĂ©, Gurjeet Choough, 21, was left seriously ill in hospital as a result of eating the Aconite poison which had secretly been mixed into their evening meal at their home in Princes Road, Feltham.

Lakhvir Kaur Singh, 40, of Marlborough Rd, Southall was also convicted by the Old Bailey jury of causing grievous bodily harm, with intent, to Miss Choough, who has made a full recovery.

Detective Inspector Tony Bishop of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command said: "This was a premeditated murder by a woman who could not accept that her lover had found happiness with someone else and planned to get married.

"Singh planned this murder, we believe bringing the poison from India, and added it to the food that she knew would be eaten by Lucky and Gurjeet.

“The poison that Singh used caused appalling symptoms meaning that the last hours of Lucky's life were extremely traumatic and must have been terrifying."

Married mother-of-three Singh had been Lucky’s lover for about 15 years before his engagement to Gurjeet.

In 2008 Lucky's family introduced him to Gurjeet and the couple announced their engagement on November 2 and set a wedding date for Valentine’s Day, 2009.

Singh was upset and sent text messages to both Gurjeet and Lucky (pic. top) and eventually the three met with Gurjeet asking Singh to stop calling Lucky and allow them to start their new life together.

On January 26 Gurjeet made a curry for both her and Lucky and the next day their tenants let Singh (pic. middle) in, having met her previously.

She was invited by the tenants to sit in the kitchen, but refused and went to the fridge, taking the curry container (pic. bottom) out and standing with her back to the other residents before returning it to the fridge and leaving the house.

Later that evening Gurjeet heated the remainder of the curry for a meal for herself and Lucky.

Within a short time they began to feel unwell and rang one of the tenants for help as they were incapable of moving.

By the time the tenant got downstairs to them, they were unable to move and Lucky was vomiting violently.

Lucky's sister came to the house and she put her brother and Gurjeet into her car and rushed them to hospital.

They had both lost their sight and were losing the use of their limbs and by the time they reached hospital Lucky was completely paralysed and died within the hour.

Gurjeet was put into a medical coma whilst the staff at the hospital stabilised her heart and breathing.

Singh was arrested the next day and a small packet of the poison was found in her coat pocket and another in her handbag.

She claimed it was medication for a rash on her neck, giving the medical teams trying to save Gurjeet no assistance by identifying the poison.

Expert forensic analysis identified that the poison Aconite was present in both of the victims, the remains of the curry and the packets found in Singh's coat and handbag.

Detective Inspector Tony Bishop said: "I am grateful that the court recognised the overwhelming evidence against Singh and she has been found guilty of these crimes.

"Our thoughts are with Lucky's family and his fiancé who have all been devastated by his death."

Singh will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

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