London: 79-year-old Sikh man gets life sentence for wife's murder in East London

London, November 2:  In a tragic incident that occurred in May this year, a 79-year-old Sikh man, identified as Tarsame Singh has been handed a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years for the murder of his 77-year-old wife, Maya Devi, at their residence in east London.

The 79-year-old Sikh man, hailing from Britain, made a startling confession earlier this year when he walked into a London police station, admitting to the murder of his wife. He subsequently pleaded guilty to the crime, involving the use of a wooden rounders bat, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by a UK court on Wednesday.

The sentence was announced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday, following Tarsame Singh's guilty plea to the crime. On May 2, Tarsame Singh walked into the Romford police station and confessed to the killing of his wife. In response, officers promptly responded to their home on Cowdray Way in Elm Park, where they discovered Maya Devi lying lifeless on the living room floor. A wooden rounders bat was found nearby, and extensive bloodstains were observed on the carpet and adjacent walls.

Tragically, Maya was declared dead at the scene, and a post-mortem examination confirmed that her cause of death was due to blunt force head injuries. Singh was charged the following day and was held in custody.

Detective chief inspector Mark Rogers, leading the investigation for the Metropolitan Police, expressed the profound sadness surrounding this case. He emphasised the devastating impact on the couple's three children, who have been left in a state of profound distress. While Singh never disclosed the motive for his violent actions that evening, the fact that he pleaded guilty has brought a sense of closure, and he now faces a substantial prison sentence.

Tarsame Singh and Maya Devi, who ran a post office in Rainham, an east London suburb close to their home, for many years before their recent retirement, hailed from India, but had been residing in Britain for over half a century. They were parents to a son and two daughters.