Baljit Singh killing: man admits murder

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/08/baljit-singh-killing-stuart-millership-admits-murder

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A 33-year-old man has admitted murdering a father whose body was found in the basement of a terraced house on New Year’s Day.

Stuart Millership had been due to stand trial at Wolverhampton crown court but pleaded guilty to killing Baljit Singh after a jury had been sworn in.

Singh, from Edgbaston, Birmingham, disappeared on 23 December last year after apparently leaving his home to collect a birthday cake for his son.

The 50-year-old’s body was found by police at about 9am on 1 January at a house in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, about seven miles from his home.

A postmortem examination found that Singh died from head injuries and a knife wound to his neck.

Millership, of Rowley Regis, was arrested on New Year’s Eve on suspicion of stealing Singh’s Range Rover and charged with murder.

Immediately after Millership pleaded guilty, his barrister told the court that the plea had been entered on a basis that may be disputed by the crown.

Rex Tedd, defending, said it was possible the crown may require the sentencing judge to hold a further hearing to decide “outstanding issues” surrounding Millership’s basis of plea.

The specific basis of plea was not read to the court but Tedd quoted a paragraph from the document in which Millership apologised to the victim’s family.

It said: “I am truly sorry for the death of Baljit Singh and the anguish that this has caused his family, particularly his wife and son. I wish to apologise for my part in this offence and for my earlier failures to tell the truth.”

A further hearing in the case will take place at the same court next week.