Jagsheer Singh, a young Indian American father in Queens, New York, who pleaded guilty to assault and manslaughter in connection with the death of his four-month-old son, who suffered multiple skull fractures, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison on November 15th, as per reports by AP.
Prosecutors say Singh, 28-year-old, had been left with his son in December 2014 while his wife, Dr. Reena Malhotra, went to work. The next day the child was taken to the hospital, where an examination showed the skull fractures, brain injury and retinal hemorrhages. The boy died a few days later.
Jagsheer Singh was charged with manslaughter and assault of his son, Nevin Janduher, who had died after suffering multiple skull fractures in December 2014. “As a father, the defendant’s job was to protect and nurture his helpless, innocent son,” said District Attorney Richard Brown. “Instead, the defendant assaulted his son, causing skull fractures and widespread brain injury and ultimately resulting in the child’s death. As a result, the sentence to be imposed by the court is more than warranted.”
Singh first told his wife that Nevin fell off a changing table, but doctors found that his injuries were inconsistent with a short fall and that he had suffered “abusive head trauma.” Medical personnel at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, examined the baby and found he had suffered injuries inconsistent with falling off a table. Doctors said that Nevin had suffered non-accidental inflicted trauma.
The infant died several days later on Christmas Eve after being taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center. Singh is facing up to 18 years in prison when he is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Richard Buchter at Queens Supreme Court on Nov. 4.
Singh was arrested Dec. 21 with first degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges were upgraded after Nevin’s death, to second degree murder and acting in a manner injurious to a child under the age of 17.
In March 2015, Queens radiologist Reena Malhotra, Nevin’s mother and Singh’s wife, wrote to Judge Richard Buchter, who was presiding over the case, to ask that her husband be released. She pointed out that Singh was a “loving and caring father. Our family is his world,” she wrote. “He has a big heart, is a God-loving man, and is a responsible person with a calm demeanor,” she said. In September, to honor their nephew’s second birthday, Nevin’s aunts started a gofundme drive to raise donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “We think of Nevin every day,” wrote his aunts.