Kuldip Kaur Sidhu

Kuldip Kaur Sidhu was manually strangled in her home at 31 Glyn Farm Road, Quinton after which the house was set on fire.

She was last seen on 14 May 2008 taking her Samoyed dog Lassie for a walk and smoke was later seen coming from her house at 3.30pm. The fire brigade was called and they found Kuldip Sidhu curled up at the foot of the stairs, the place where it was thought the fire had started.

Her death was first considered to have been a suicide. However, her inquest found that she had been strangled and that her body had then been made to make it look like she had taken her own life by hanging.

The inquest heard that although a rope had been found around her neck and then tied to an upstairs banister, there had been no discernible ligature marks around her neck. It was heard that she had been left hanging from the rope but that the fire had burnt through it, resulting in her body falling down to the foot of the stairs.

A pathologist said, 'The most likely explanation, is that the deceased died from manual-strangulation. Attempts were then made to simulate death from hanging before the fire was started'.

It was thought that the fire had been started to hide evidence.

She was found half-naked.

What appeared to have been a suicide note was also found, but it was later ruled to have been fake and to have not been written in either her or her husband’s handwriting. The letter started, 'I am Kully and I am having this letter written for my mum and dad. My friend is writing it for me. Love you mum and dad, xxxx, From Kully'.

The Coroner said, 'In my view, the evidence shows clearly this was not murder by a stranger. An attempt was made to destroy the evidence by burning her body to make it look as if Kuldeep had taken her own life by hanging. She had not'. He added that in his opinion she was not murdered by a stranger, saying that the facts that the murderer had gained access to the house, written the suicide note and then left the house on fire indicated she had not been killed by a stranger.

He then appealed for witnesses within the Quinton and Birmingham area who could help trace her movements on 13 and 14 May 2008, saying, 'In particular we would like to hear from persons who could help us piece together the last movements of Kuldeep'. In particular they said that they were keen to speak to anyone that had seen her travelling home from work on the Tuesday evening, catching the number 11 bus to Harborne and then the 103 to Quinton.

The letter went on to state that she faced a living hell and had been mentally tortured by her husband. It also said, 'I want to forget my husband who is having an affair with a white woman. I have seen it all with my own eyes. I can't take it anymore. Today I am so upset that I do not want to live any more'.

The writer of the letter was never traced. It was also noted that the author of the note was not necessarily the murderer.

Kuldip Sidhu had been in the early stages of pregnancy at the time.

She had been married for six months and had been a nursery nurse. Her 27-year-old husband had been an accountant,

The inquest heard that her husband’s family had been unhappy about their marriage because Kuldip Sidhu had been from a lower caste. It was noted that Kuldip Sidhu's mother-in-law was arrested on suspicion of threats to kill in November 2007 but later released without charge.

At the inquest her husband denied that he had been having an affair, saying that they had been happy and had been trying for a baby. He said that he had not known that Kuldip Sidhu was six weeks pregnant until her post mortem was carried out. It was also noted that the police found no evidence that he had been having an affair.

Her husband noted that Kuldip Sidhu complained to him that she had been stalked by someone on a bus and that he believed that someone had been watching their house.

He was arrested on suspicion of murder in October 2008 but later released without charge.

The police said, 'There has been a wide-ranging, painstaking inquiry into the death of Kuldeep Sidhu. It is clear from our investigation and from the comments made during the course of this inquest by Mr Cotter that the answer to whoever has committed this murder lies closely around the scene and around those known to Kuldeep'.

They added, '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', reiterating their belief that family members knew what had happened to Kuldip Sidhu.

Her inquest in May 2010 ruled that she had been murdered by someone who was known to her. However, the Coroner noted that he was forbidden from naming any potential suspects.

Kuldip Sidhu was known to her friends as Kully.