The Singh Family Murders: Did They Get The Right Man?

It was a Tuesday in April 2003, when an emergency phone call was made from a visitor at 20 Grass Tree Close, Bridgeman Downs in Brisbane's north. 

The phone call was made by a 33-year-old man named Massimo Sica, known to most as Max. The purpose for his visit, according to his testimony, was to see his on and off again girlfriend, 24-year-old flight attendant Neelma Singh. 

Neelma was the second eldest child of Shirley and Vijay Singh, who had migrated to the northern suburb of Brisbane 10 years prior from Fiji, along with their four children.  

At the time of the emergency phone call in 2003, Shirley and Vijay were away visiting Fiji. 

Max would later tell police that once he ventured inside the house, he noticed bloodstains on the carpet of Neelma’s upstairs bedroom. He followed the blood. But as he got closer to her parent's bedroom, he heard the sound of running water. 

When Max stepped inside the ensuite of the main bedroom, he claims to have found blankets piled into the spa bath. There was water covering the floor, overflowing to such an extent that the ceiling below was buckling under the weight. 

As he removed the blankets, he says he uncovered the body of Neelma. 

Inside that spa bath, were also the bodies of her brother, 18-year-old Kunal Singh, and her 12-year-old sister, Sidhi Singh. They had all been murdered. 

Suddenly, police were looking at a triple homicide in a quiet Brisbane suburb. What unfolded would become the longest murder trial in Queensland history. According to some experts, however, there remains a number of questions that still, almost 20 years later, do not have answers. 

CREDITS

Host: Jessie Stephens

Guest: Graeme Crowley, host of Loose Ends: A Singh Family Tragedy

Producer: Gia Moylan

Audio Producers: Ian Camilleri

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