Inquest Opens On Strangled Pregnant Bride

An inquest into the death of a pregnant newlywed who was found strangled in 2008 has begun.

Kuldeep Kaur Sidhu was found strangled, hanged and burned alongside a fake suicide note accusing her husband of having an affair.

She was discovered half naked with a rope around her neck following a fire at her home in Birmingham in May 2008.

The fake suicide note, believed to be written by her killer or killers, accused her husband of having an affair, the Daily Mail reports.

Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard that her husband's Sikh family was unhappy about their marriage six months earlier because Mrs Sidhu was from a lower caste.

But husband Baljinder Sidhu denied any affair and insisted they were a happy couple who were trying for a baby.

A post-mortem later revealed the 25-year-old nursery nurse was six weeks' pregnant.

The handwritten note found beside her charred body claimed Mrs Sidhu faced "living hell" because of her husband's alleged infidelity.

"I can't take it anymore," the note read.

It continued: "I am having this letter written for my mum and dad. My friend is writing it for me."

The writer has never been traced but experts rule out Mrs Sidhu or her husband.

Mrs Sidhu was strangled before being hung from a rope attached to a stair railing near the entrance to her house, the court heard. A fire was then started inside.

In police interviews, Mr Sidhu denied having an affair and detectives found no evidence of this. He said his wife complained she was being stalked by someone on a bus, and he believed someone had been watching their house.

However, Detective Sergeant Andrew Houston, of West Midlands Police, told the court the circumstances of her death did not suggest a murder by strangers.

He said: "The scene was elaborately set with Bacardi and whisky that was foreign to the house. The note was foreign to the house. There is no reason why a stranger would go in and set up such an elaborate scene."

Mr Sidhu was arrested over the murder in October 2008, the court heard. His mother was arrested on suspicion of threats to kill in November 2007. Both were released without charge.

(LB/BMcC)