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Bakersfield, CA (KERO) — The Sikh woman accused of drowning her hours-old grandson in a bathtub is expected to go to trial on a first-degree murder charge in December.
The court set a tentative trial date of Dec. 16 for Beant Dhillon, suspected of killing her grandson after her then 15-year-old daughter gave birth at home in November of 2017. A readiness hearing is set for Dec. 6.
Court documents show Dhillon, 43, told police she killed the newborn to “prevent family shame.”
Dhillon has already pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, as well as charges of assault on a child younger than 8 resulting in death and willful cruelty to a child.
The body of the newborn was found buried in the backyard of their Shining Crag Avenue home in February, months after the alleged murder.
Dhillon’s husband, Jagsir Singh, was also arrested early in the investigation. He eventually bailed out of custody, and was later found hanging in their home in an apparent suicide .
Bakhshinderpal Singh Mann, the cousin of the daughter, is still wanted by Bakersfield Police in connection with the case, as well as by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
I.C.E. says that Mann was in the United States illegally. Officers with the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations are looking for Mann after he removed his GPS-monitoring device on Feb. 27, shortly after the baby’s body was discovered.
According to a spokesman with I.C.E., Mann was initially encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in July 2016 when he illegally entered the country. In October 2016, I.C.E. released Mann from custody with a GPS-monitoring device pending removal proceedings before the immigration court. He is currently an immigration fugitive and wanted on criminal charges.
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