Sikh-American Woman Arrested For Killing Newborn Child And Burying Body In The Back Yard

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A 43-year-old Sikh-American woman was arrested and booked into the county jail Tuesday night after police unearthed a body buried in the back yard of a home in an upscale Southwest Bakersfield neighborhood.

Beant Kaur Dhillon has been charged with murder and wilful cruelty to a child. Dhillon was held at the Downtown jail without bail, reported 17 News.

The arrest came hours after neighbors said police removed a body from a home at 5205 Shining Crag Avenue.

A county website listed Dhillon as the owner of the house.

Detectives at the scene Tuesday afternoon declined to describe their investigation but pictures from neighbors showed investigators digging in a planter behind the two-story stucco house.

Neighbors said a crime scene van was parked at the house for several hours.

The house is in a newer neighborhood off Stine Road, between Hosking Road and Panama Lane. Online real estate sites described it as a five-bedroom, 3,412 square foot home and said it sold for $402,000 last year.

Dhillon declined a 17 News request for a jailhouse interview.

Residents of Dhillon’s neighborhood were stunned Wednesday following the news of the killing and the arrests of Dhillon and 47-year-old Jagsir Singh, on suspicion of aiding a felon, child cruelty and conspiracy, at the couple’s home.

Police on Tuesday discovered a slain infant in a flower bed in the backyard of a home in the 5200 block of Shining Crag Avenue, west of Stine Road and south of Panama Lane.

An investigation found a juvenile had given birth to a live child at the home in November.

Within hours of the birth, police said, the baby was taken from the mother by Beant Kaur Dhillon and killed at the residence, located in a neighborhood of newer homes and described as consisting of mostly Sikh residents.

Two children living in the residence — including the girl who gave birth — were taken into protective custody.

“It just kind of shocked me,” said 42-year-old Gary Singh. “This is a really nice neighborhood.”

While predominantly Sikh, the neighborhood has residents of different backgrounds and cultures who live in harmony, Gary Singh said. Most days residents can be seen walking on the sidewalks and talking with neighbors.

Around 11 a.m. Tuesday, Gary Singh said, he saw five or six police cruisers parked outside the residence where the infant’s body was found. A few hours later, a Crime Scene Unit van was at the house.

Gary Singh said a neighbor told him he witnessed a man and woman being taken away in handcuffs.

Houses in the neighborhood are large, some with five bedrooms or more, and Gary Singh said prices range from $360,000 to more than $400,000.

“Who would do something like that if they can afford a $400,000 home?” he said.

Bakersfield police Sgt. Nathan McCauley said police are withholding the relationship of Dhillon and Singh to the juvenile as they don’t want to identify the girl. The juvenile’s age was not released, but McCauley said she is a teenager.

The investigation began when police received a call for service Tuesday to check on the welfare of the teen. McCauley said the teen had reached out to someone, and a third party contacted police.

No further charges are pending at this time, McCauley said. The investigation is ongoing.

Nick Suarez, 33, lives near the residence where Dhillon and Jagsir Singh were arrested. He said he used to live in a rough neighborhood in east Bakersfield, and moved here with his daughter for a safer environment.

Suarez said he sometimes saw the home’s residents outside but didn’t interact with them. He said some of the homes have two or more families living in them to help alleviate the cost.

He still considers the neighborhood safe. But Tuesday’s news left him unsettled.

“It’s just pretty crazy,” Suarez said.

Dhillon and Jagsir Singh appeared in court on Thursday.