Satnam Sumal faces murder charges after allegedly confessing to killing his wife and her girlfriend in California. (Mugshot from Tracy Police Department; crime scene screenshot from CBS Sacramento)
A 55-year-old man in an open relationship is believed to have fatally shot his wife and her girlfriend at the home they shared in California before he went to a police station and surrendered.
Satnam Sumal walked into the Tracy Police Department on Monday and confessed to killing 37-year-old Nadjiba Belaidi and 39-year-old Satbinder Singh, Sumal’s wife, officials said.
He was booked with no bail into the San Joaquin County Jail on murder charges, officials said in a news release.
CBS Sacramento reported that Sumal and Singh were in an open marriage, and that Sumal was aware of his wife’s romantic relationship with Belaidi. All three apparently lived together in the home where the women were killed.
Police found the women’s bodies during a welfare check on Monday around noon at a home in Tracy, California, about 60 miles east of San Francisco. A firearm believed to be used in the slayings was found at the home, police said, according to Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA.
Police said they were investigating what sparked the killings on Sunflower Lane.
“In my 20-some-odd years in law enforcement, I can’t think of that ever happening,” Tracy Police Sgt. Michael Richards told CBS.
“It’s a tragedy, and our thoughts are with the family,” Richards told KCRA.
The homicides shocked the city of 93,000. Neighbors were stunned.
“It is really scary, and it’s very unfortunate in this community this happened, and I feel very bad about it,” Karuppiah Karuppiah told CBS News.
CBS also reported that a neighbor said two children under 10 lived at the home but were not home when the shooting happened.
Anyone with information is asked to call the police to contact Detective Philip Giusto at [email protected] or 209-831-6651 or Detective Kenneth Steele at [email protected] or 209-831-6660.
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